A Shared Apartment
by Kagetora no Tsume
Summary: A group of little amusing and occasionally fluffy clip-its from the daily life of Izaya and Namie. Rated 'T' to be safe.
1. Chapter 1 Creative title, no?

A few random clips from the daily life of Izaya and Namie. More chapters to come. (Hopefully...)

All one-shots: not really related, or even in chronological order.

I don't own Durarara. Wish I did...

* * *

"Izaya, I'll warn you now," Namie threatened, "It's in your best interest not to annoy me when I'm in possession of a large, rather sharp kitchen knife."

"What? All I said was that the pasta could use some salt..."

This was a typical conversation for Izaya Orihara and his resident Namie Yagiri.

Half insults, half threats. Mostly idly threats, but threats nonetheless.

Izaya picked at the pasta for another second.

"So I take it that you're not bringing me the salt?"

"HELLS NO!"

He couldn't help but smile at Namie's over-reaction. She was very touchy when it came to 2 subjects - her brother and her cooking.

"If you think that my cooking's so bad, you can make the food yourself!"

"Now, I never said 'your cooking is bad', I just stated that the dish could use a little salt. If you don't want me asking for it, add more salt in the first place."

Glaring for another few seconds, Namie eventually turned and left Izaya to his bland pasta.

* * *

The next night, when Izaya took a bite of his dinner, he gagged for a few minutes before quickly washing it down with half a glass of water.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Namie was throwing out the now-empty box of salt whose contents in their entirety had been poured into Izaya's dish.

Revenge.

Sweet...or rather..._salty,_ revenge.

* * *

It was early, and Namie _certainly_ hadn't gotten enough sleep the previous night, on account of Izaya's waltzing into the apartment at 11 at night, handing her a rather large stack of papers, and insisting that she finish filing them all before she went to bed. So of course, she was still half asleep, and not really coordinated in the least this morning.

She made her way into the bathroom to get ready, and accidentally bumped into the corner of the counter as her tires eyes closed over in a long blink.

Izaya's toothrush had been sitting on the edge of this counter, and it now toppled from it's precarious post.

Namie made a quick grab, but was too slow, and Izaya's toothbrush fell into the trashcan.

Right on top of all the dust-bunnies, old toenail clippings, and random other filth from the floors that she had dumped in there after cleaning the floors the previous day.

Namie wasn't sure whether to be scared or amused. Izaya would kill her if he found out...

But this sort of served him right for making her file all those papers so late.

She fished the toothbrush out, rinsing the majority of the dust off of it, then placed it back on the countertop where it was kept.

Maybe he wouldn't notice...

She hoped he wouldn't.

* * *

"Namie, you're ignoring me." Izaya said, standing behind her as she got ready for bed.

The young woman turned to glare at him, the handle of her toothbrush hanging out of her mouth.

She mumbled something incomprehensible and turned her back to him again.

Interpreting her mumble as her asking what he wanted, Izaya leaned back against the counter.

"Well, all I really wanted to know was why my toothbrush tasted like dirt."

He tried to keep a straight face as Namie instantly gagged, accidentally snorting toothpaste out her nose as she laughed.

"What? What is it? What's so funny?" he pestered, leaning overtop of her.

A minute later, when she had managed to stop choking, she turned to Izaya, eyes watering.

"That was mean!"

Smiling, Izaya patted her head.

"Sorry about that. But what you did was mean as well."

Namie's cheeks flushed slightly, embarrassed that she had been caught.

"Don't worry though, Namie," he smiled, "I already knew that you dropped my toothbrush into the trash can."

She stared back at him skeptically.

"You don't seem mad..."

"I'm not. I figure this makes us even."

"..." her eyes narrowed threateningly, "Why's that?"

Izaya's grin was huge.

"Because I dropped _your _toothbrush in the toilet yesterday."

Her hands instantly clapped over her mouth, and she slapped the faucet on.

Izaya laughed, getting a kick out of her reaction to his white lie as he watched her desperately washing her mouth out.

Namie had heard him laugh, though.

"IZAYAAAAA...!" she yelled, turning on him.

The information broker, conscious that his life was in danger, fled the room.

* * *

"No."

"Come on!"

"No!"

"Namie~chan..."

"I said no! I'm not betting with you!"

"But it's no fun betting against myself..."

"Too bad."

"Oh, come on! There's a fifty-fifty chance! How could I rig this?"

Izaya tossed the coin into the air, catching it again as it fell.

"You could weigh one side of the coin! And besides, who bets on a freaking coin-toss?"

The information broker rolled his eyes.

"Namie, please...I'm bored out of my mind, here..."

"I can tell."

"So you'll bet?"

"No!" she snapped, "What are we betting anyway?"

Izaya smiled.

"My bet is that it'll land on one side, with me giving you $1000 if I'm wrong. Yours is that it'll land on the other side."

"Oh? And what happens to me if I'm wrong?"

Izaya's grin widened.

"You have to wear a maid cosplay for 3 days."

"WHAT?"

"Deal's on, then." Izaya said quickly, tossing the coin in the air. "Heads!"

Namie watched closely as he caught the coin and slapped it down on the back of his other hand.

"Ready?" he smiled darkly.

He moved his hand slowly, grinning at her, but as he saw the coin, his smile quickly disappeared.

Tails.

"Yes!" Namie cried, punching a fist into the air, "You owe me a thousand dollars!"

Izaya slumped back onto the couch.

"You never agreed to the bet..."

"Sure I did. You agreed to it for me. Now give me the cash."

Grumbling, Izaya went to get his wallet.

He had weighted the coin on the wrong side.

* * *

Namie glared up at Izaya as the information broker balanced himself atop a ladder.

"Again, I think this is a really stupid idea." she muttered.

"Well, that's why I didn't ask your oppinion!" Izaya grinned, tugging at the ceiling tiles.

The power to their apartment had been cut off after Izaya 'forgot' to pay one of the bills.

Namie wrapped her lab coat more tightly around herself as the chill seeped through the thin material. No power meant no heat, and in the middle of winter.

"This isn't going to work..."

"Sure it is! The guy in the apartment above us is gone for the winter, but he left his heat running! All I have to do is make an opening..."

With that, Izaya gave one last yank to the tile, and it popped out of the ceiling.

"There! See?" he gave her a cocky smile, "Now all I have to do is move this insulation, push out this tile in _his_ floor, and..."

Izaya yelped in surprise and nearly fell off the ladder as a gallon of water cascaded from the hole he had created.

The man in the apartment above them had left his heat on, but had also left the faucet dripping and the sink stopper up. The floor had been flooded.

Namie glared up at the information broker, now thoroughly soaked.

"Brilliant, Izaya! Just freaking brilliant!"

Izaya descended the ladder, completely dry, to stand before the dripping scientist.

"Sorry, Namie. You'd better go change before you catch cold."

She glared at him so fiercely that Izaya took a step back.

"All my clothes are at the cleaners, remember? Your refusing to pay the bills cut off the power to the washing machine too! None of my outfits get back till tonight!"

Izaya winced slightly, but couldn't keep a grin off his face.

"Well, you could put on one of my outfits."

"They're all at the cleaners too."

"Why would you send _all_ of our clothing to the cleaners at the _same time_?"

"Well I wasn't expecting you to hack into the swimming pool of the renter upstairs!"

Izaya thought for a moment.

Well, this wasn't good. Namie was already shivering.

With a sigh, Izaya took off his coat.

"Here. Go change into this for now."

Blushing slightly, but too cold to argue, Namie snatched the coat from him.

"Make sure not to bend over to pick anything up!" he called, grinning after her.

"Shut up, Izaya!"

* * *

So that's all the insanity I have for now. I hope to post part 2 soon...need inspiration...and sleep...

As always, reviewes are greatly appreciated! ^^ Thank you for reading!


	2. A holiday and a guest

Chapter 2 of my midnight ramblings. A bit more fluff this time.

Thank you to those who have read this far, and I don't own Durarara.

Yet.

I hope to buy it, but I doubt they'll sell me the series for $250...

* * *

April Fools Day was Izaya's absolute favorite holiday.

More so than Eater, Christmas, or even Halloween.

The reason? Because he got to show off his skill for setting up clever traps and fooling the poor, clueless humans that he loved so much.

Even now, he was rigging a trap for Namie.

It was about 6 in the morning, and he was stringing a large, rather realistic looking plastic spider from the ceiling.

When Namie went to file away papers in his bookshelf, she would move the book that pinned the end of the string, and the spider would drop on top of her.

Grinning with the simple evil of the plan, he retreated downstairs and began non-chalantly fiddling with his chess board of random game pieces.

A while later, Izaya was beginning to get bored, when finally the alarm clock went off.

He could hear Namie getting up and ready, and tried to keep a straight face.

She came down the stairs a few minutes later, fixing the last few wrinkles out of her clothing.

"Morning, Namie!" he smiled.

She stared at him for a second.

"Morning." she mumbled.

Namie grabbed a stack of the papers that constantly scattered his desk, heading back upstairs to file them.

The information broker listened expectantly.

Izaya grinned as he heard movement of the books upstairs, followed by a shriek, but his smile shrank a bit when he heard a rather loud, painful-sounding thud.

* * *

Namie moaned slightly in pain as Izaya pressed an ice pack to her forehead.

"In my defense," Izaya said, "I didn't think that shelf stuck into the walkway enough for you to hit your head on it."

She mumbled something along the lines of 'shut up and leave me alone'.

Sighing, Izaya toyed with the plastic spider.

Well, so much for that trick.

He felt Namie shift slightly, trying to get comfortable, and adjusted the ice pack accordingly.

"You're still making dinner for me, right?" he asked.

"You're mean. Go away." was the muttered reply.

Smiling to himself, Izaya stood.

It had been about 20 minutes, and most of the swelling was gone.

The only remaining evidence of the encounter was a headache for poor Namie and a bruised forehead. She would be fine, though.

"Well, I'm gonna go trick other people." he said, "You're no fun."

Izaya grabbed his coat from where he had left it lying over the back of a chair.

As he went to put it on though, something fell to the ground.

* * *

Namie's eyes were closed, but she knew exactly what was happening.

Izaya was grabbing his coat, soon to find the rubber snake she had hidden inside of it.

His yell told her that he'd found it, and she smiled.

THUD!

Namie sat up quickly, looking around.

"Izaya?"

A moan came from the other side of the room, and the information broker staggered to his feet, one hand over a bloody nose, the other rubbing his head.

"Blasded door...who leff tah half opem?" he managed, trying not to drip blood on the carpet. Namie laughed.

"Guess this makes us even. Here."

She offered her ice pack, which Izaya gratefully took, and he collapsed on the couch beside her.

Namie passed him a handful of tissues which he promptly clapped over his bleeding nose.

Trying not to snicker at the sheer irony of the situation, Namie got to her feet and went to fetch another ice pack.

When she came back, Izaya was sprawled across the couch, his head hanging upside-down off of one end, trying to stop his nosebleed.

Moving his feet over, she sat down again.

"Let me see that."

"No."

"What? Why not?"

"Cause it hurts."

"And my looking at is going to do SO much damage..." she replied sarcastically, "Now get over here."

With a moan Izaya dragged himself to a sitting position facing Namie.

She gently pried his fingers from his head and examined the beginnings of the bruise there.

"Nothing too bad. You'll live."

"Well aren't you just the picture of sympathy..."

"What did you want? A cookie? A lollipop? For me to kiss it better or something?"

"That would be nice."

Namie glared at him, one eyebrow slightly raised in a look that seemed to say 'really Izaya?', but the information broker's gaze didn't falter.

Muttering a soft complaint about 'being childish', Namie leaned forward and gently kissed Izaya's forehead.

"There. All better." she said, as if speaking to an infant with a scrape on his knee rather than an adult with a self-inflicted partial concussion.

"I think I bruised my lip too..."

"Absolutely not." Namie cut him off.

With a moan, Izaya slumped against her pathetically.

"Well, now what am I supposed to do? I can't go prank people like this..."

Namie shrugged him off.

"Isn't there anything on TV?"

* * *

The two of them spent the rest of the day watching comedy shows, and pulling up recorded pranks on the internet. Neither one realized how tired they were until they had fallen asleep leaning against each other, their now-warm ice packs discarded on the floor.

All was peaceful until the next morning, when the phone rang, and both of them were jolted awake by the sudden noise.

"Izaya, you pervert! Just what the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Hey! Don't get all defensive! _You'r_e the one who fell asleep next to _me_!"

"ME? Why would I try something like that?"

Izaya got to his feet to answer the phone, looking over his shoulder to argue with Namie.

He didn't realize that he had left the plastic spider on the countertop next to the phone, and now grabbed it accidentally.

"Eeeyaaah!"

He flung the spider away instinctively, and it landed beside Namie, who cried out sharply in surprise and ran over into Izaya's arms to hide.

A second later, they realized that it was only the fake spider.

The two turned and looked at each other slowly, frozen for a second; but then Izaya snickered.

Namie giggled.

And the two of them burst into laughter.

* * *

"Izaya? Just _what_ is that _thing_ doing in here? I'm not letting you bring it into the apartment..."

"He's not an 'it', he's a 'he', and he's going to be staying with us."

Namie fixed both Izaya and the dog the he had brought along with a glare.

"No, _he_ is not."

"Hey, it's my apartment..."

"And I'm the one who does all the cleaning. Now I don't know where you got it..._him._" she corrected herself, "But I want you to take him back."

"Can't."

"And just why not?"

"Cause his owner left on a trip and I agreed to watch him for a week."

"Why on EARTH would you do that?"

The information broker shrugged, ruffling the mutt's floppy ears.

"Cause he's cute. And he's very smart. And dogs are man's best friend."

Namie's glare didn't falter.

"Out. Now. Both of you."

"Namie-chan..."

Izaya flounced over to her side, grabbing her hands and pulling her toward the dog.

"You're really going to throw him out?"

"No. I'm going to throw _you_ out and hope he follows."

"But just look at those eyes..."

Izaya pulled Namie down with him so they both sat on the floor beside the canine. Taking her chin in one hand and the dog's muzzle in the other, he practically shoved them nose-to-nose.

"How can you refuse those eyes?"

"Easily." she muttered, pushing Izaya away.

"Now get it-...him, out of here."

"But you'll hurt his feelings!" Izaya protested as she stood and began walking away.

Namie didn't even glance back at them.

The information broker sighed, looking at the dog sympathetically.

"Sorry, buddy," he said, glancing at Namie, "But it looks like you're going to have to go."

The dog whimpered softly as he said this, and to his surprise, Namie stopped dead.

She glanced back over her shoulder slowly, and the dog whimpered again.

Izaya got hopeful as he saw her expression soften, and overplayed his goodbye.

"I hope they treat you nice at the kennels, and that you don't get worms or anything from the food there."

The scientist was wavering, but another whimper from the dog had Namie hooked.

"If you _must_ keep him here, Izaya," she sighed, "you're going to be the one taking care of him. Not me."

In an almost uncharacteristic bout of joy, Izaya leaped to his feet and grabbed Namie in a gigantic hug.

"Yay! Thank you, Namie~chan...!"

Blushing furiously, Namie muttered a dismissing 'just don't let him shed on the furniture...getting fur off is a pain...' pried Izaya off of herself, and retreated upstairs. Closely followed by a very happy canine, and an even happier Izaya.

* * *

"Just what do you think you're doing?" Namie asked the dog as she walked into her room to find it lying across the covers of her bed.

"Staying in the apartment is one thing, sharing my bed is another matter entirely!" she muttered, shooing the mutt to the floor.

"But his owner said that he has to have a bed or he can't sleep..." Izaya called into her room as he walked past in the hall.

Namie buried her face in the palm of her hand.

Of _course_ Izaya would get a high-maintenance dog...

"Then he can have _your_ bed."

"In that case, I'll be sharing a bed with you."

"What? Why on earth would you be sharing _my_ bed?"

"Cause I'm allergic to dog fur."

Namie's palm hit her forehead again, this time with a little bit more emphasis than before.

How typical...

"So you're saying that I either have to share my bed with you or the dog?"

"Yeah, basically."

Namie glared up at the information broker, wanting to strangle him.

"I'll take the mutt."

Izaya visibly drooped at this answer, but turned and retreated to his own room.

The dog instantly leaped up onto the bed.

To Namie's surprise, though, it didn't try to lie across her pillow, but retreated instantly to the foot of the bed, settled down, and fell asleep.

Namie climbed into her bed, smiling.

"You know, Izaya," she called, leaning over and patting the mutt's head, "this dog is actually less trouble than you."

* * *

"Now don't chase any cars, or pick fights with the other dogs, and remember to eat all your supper." Namie cooed as she ruffled the dog's ears.

It was the last day of babysitting, and she had to admit, she'd fallen in love with the mutt. She would hate to see him go.

Her _other_ apartment-mate, however...

"Namie, would you stop smothering the poor thing? I have to bring him back to his owner...You know, if you're going to miss him that much, I could always come sleep in your bed, so you wouldn't be lonely."

"No."

"I'll even bark occasionally!"

"No. And he doesn't bark. Unlike you, he knows how to keep his mouth shut."

Missing this hint entirely, Izaya walked the dog out the door, leaving Namie waving after them as he continued to talk.

With a sigh, Namie closed the door behind them.

As she turned, though, she caught sight of one of the leashes that Izaya had bought.

She sighed, picking it up.

"Great, Izaya. And just _what_ am I supposed to do with _this_?" she asked out loud.

Her mind conjured up a few images of Izaya tethered out in the hallway, and she tried to keep from smiling.

He'd better watch out the next time he annoyed her...

Setting the leash down, she grabbed a stack of papers, and life in Izaya and Namie's apartment returned to normal.

Well, as normal as it could possibly get with those two.

* * *

Thank you again for reading!

I'm not sure when I'll get another chapter up, though...running out of plot lines...but I have a couple ideas I plan to frame up in the next week or two, so keep a look out. (Though not too closely...It might take a while...)

Reviews are welcomed and appreciated.

Good night. Zzzzzzz...


	3. Dinner and Spring Cleaning for Two

2 in the morning (again) by the time I get stuff posted. *sigh* Why must my cretive streak come at midnight?

Well, this one's about half fluff, half funny. *Note - Spring Cleaning does NOT neccesarily take place after the first one-shot.

Well, we all know by now that I don't own Durarara! so I'll let you get reading. ^^

* * *

"Hey Namie!" Izaya chirped, flouncing over to her side and perching on the desk.

"No." she replied immediately.

"Aw, come on, hear me out at least!" Izaya protested.

Namie turned to him with a patronizing look.

"What?"

"Let's go out to eat!"

She sighed.

"Where?"

"Russian Sushi!"

"Why?"

"Cause it's not fun eating alone!"

"Do I have to?"

Izaya hopped off the desk and took her hands in his, dragging her to her feet.

"Oh come on, Namie, it'll be fun! Besides, it'll do you good to get out of the house every now and then. Now go change into something nice, and let's go!"

Muttering complaints under her breath, Namie ascended the stairs.

Throwing on a nice top and a skirt, and pulling her hair back into a bun, she came back downstairs to find Izaya wearing a nice shirt beneath his normal coat.

"Ready?" he grinned.

Namie looked at him skeptically, but took the arm he offered her and allowed him to lead her out of the apartment.

* * *

"Simon! Two orders of the special!" Izaya called.

Namie glanced around nervously as the large, dark-skinned Russian went to fetch their order.

There were so many people here...

It wasn't that she was anti-social, it was just...well...okay, she _was_ anti-social. But she had good reason for it.

If someone recognized her as being from Yagiri pharmaceuticals, she would be in trouble.

BIG trouble.

But to her surprise, no one seemed to recognize her.

Or at least, if they did, they didn't say anything.

Two plates were set on the counter before them a minute or two later, and Namie's fears were immediately shifted from people recognizing her to worries about getting a bad case of food poisoning.

"What...is...?" she began to ask.

"Ah! The finest Russian sushi!" Simon grinned, "Egg sushi, hamburger sushi, mayonnaise sushi, ramen sushi, and chocolate-fruit sushi! Only the best for _our_ customers! Not like the place across the street. _They_ serve _human_ sushi on 50% off days..."

As their waiter left, still muttering comparisons to the place across the street, Namie poked one of the sushi pieces with a chopstick.

"You sure this isn't poisonous?" she asked Izaya softly.

"Of course it's not. I would stay away from the mayonnaise sushi, though...but the chocolate-fruit sushi is really good. Here." he grinned, offering her a piece.

He held it out with his chopsticks, as if he were going to feet it to her.

Using her chopsticks to take the sushi from him, and ignoring his disappointed face, she popped it in her mouth.

Izaya watched her surprised expression with a smile.

"This is actually really good." She said quietly.

"See? What'd I tell you?"

* * *

Izaya walked at Namie's side, his attention grabbed by every person who passed as he chatted happily to her about them.

"Ah! That guy there? He's got a box of chocolate for his wife. She found out the other day that he got a dent in her new car, and she threatened to throw him out of the house. Ooh! And that girl? With the puffy pony-tails? She tried to commit suicide a few weeks ago. I talked her out of it. Well, actually, she still jumped off the building, but Celty caught her and changed her mind. I'm taking credit for it, though..."

Namie smiled, only half-paying attention to Izaya as she let her mind wander.

He had been right, she had been cooped up in that apartment too long. She had missed the smell of the city as the sun was setting, and everything started to cool off. Even the sound of the traffic buzzing by was pleasant.

Little did she know that her evening was about to be interrupted.

Izaya shoved her suddenly, and Namie staggered forward.

Regaining her balance, she whirled around just in time to see a vending machine crash into the sidewalk where they had stood a mere second ago.

Namie felt a pair of hands fall on her shoulders.

"Time to run." Izaya hissed in her ear as a voice bellowed 'Izaya!' from behind them.

Before she even registered what was happening, she was being dragged off down the nearest alley by her wrist. It was all she could do just to keep her footing as garbage caused her to trip and stumble over her high heels.

She could hear a vague shouting from somewhere behind them, and occasionally a loud crash, but didn't dare look back to see what made the noises.

A few exhausting minutes and ten alleyways later, Izaya slowed to a walk, leaning back against the crumbling wall of a building and sliding to the ground.

He hadn't yet let go of Namie's wrist, which was now numb, and she collapsed into his lap, her head resting on his heaving chest as she gasped for air.

"What...the hell...was that?" she managed a minute later.

"Shizuo."

"What's a shizuo?"

"A very angry vending-machine throwing monster."

It was the only reply he gave, and Namie couldn't be bothered lecturing Izaya into giving a less nonsensical answer.

When their breath had evened out a bit more, Namie sat up.

Realizing that she could no longer feel her fingertips, due to the death grip Izaya had on her wrist, she pried his hand off as best she could.

Realizing what she was doing, Izaya let go.

"Sorry." he muttered, watching her rub her wrist. With a sigh, the information broker allowed his head to lean back against the wall and let out a short laugh. "I thought we were gonners for a minute there."

"So did I..." Namie muttered, letting her head droop against his chest again.

She was tired.

Izaya's arms gently wrapped around her, and she felt him lean his chin on the top of her head.

"Well, did you have fun today?"

"...do I have to answer?"

Izaya laughed again, leaning back.

"Tired?"

She nodded, feeling her eyes closing over. It was late, and the city was already dark. In this portion of the streets, only the faintest moonlight filtered through to illuminate the concrete.

She could feel Izaya shift position, and before she even fully registered what his last comment had meant, the information broker had picked her up, cradling her in his arms, and begun to walk back to their apartment.

"Th-that's alright! I can walk!" she protested quickly, but Izaya shushed her with a smile.

"I like carrying you."

A blush instantly covered Namie's cheeks, and she buried her face in the trim of Izaya's coat to hide it from him.

He had seen it, though, and laughed.

* * *

It was late when Izaya made it back to the apartment.

Contrary to her protests, Namie had fallen asleep in his arms.

He had a bit of trouble with the door, but managed to get it open without dropping or even waking her.

He didn't even try removing his shoes at the entryway.

The stairs seemed to mock him, telling his worn out legs that they had a while more to go before he could rest.

He made it to the top, though, feeling his own eyes closing over from exhaustion.

Izaya turned into the first room and gently set Namie's sleeping form down on her bed.

Pausing only to take off her shoes and his own, he let himself collapse beside her, immediately falling asleep.

* * *

Spring Cleaning

* * *

Izaya was enjoying his dream (the contents of which he would prefer to keep to himself), when it was sharply interrupted by something hitting him in the face.

He groggily sat up to find an apron bundled up beside him, and Namie standing in his doorway, fixing him with a glare.

She was wearing an apron as well, her long, dark hair pulled back into a ponytail and covered with a bandana. One of her hands rested on her hip, the other clenched a broom.

Before he could even ask, Namie had thrown a feather duster at him.

"Get up. This apartment is getting cleaned, and you're helping."

"Why? It took me _forever_ to get a consistent layer of dust on everything..."

"NOW."

Yawning and stretching, the information broker sought out his alarm clock.

"But Namie-chan, it's only 7..."

"I don't care. Now get up."

Not being a morning person, especially when he had something like cleaning to look forward to, Izaya stumbled to his feet and slouched over to Namie's side.

"Fine."

As he made his way past her, though, he couldn't help but smile at the sight of her dressed up like a housewife.

Namie noticed, though, and turned on him sharply.

"And so help me, if you make one comment about what I'm wearing...!"

"Well aren't _you_ dressed up quite sexy today..."

By the time Izaya had registered that he was in trouble, the broom had already connected with his face and floored him.

* * *

Rubbing his nose, Izaya muttered complaints as he tried to sweep the cobwebs down from the top shelves of his bookcases.

"That was a bit of an overreaction..."

"I warned you." Namie's voice drifted up to him from downstairs, "And you're the one who chose to ignore that and speak anyway."

With a sigh, he chased another small spider into the shadows as he obliterated its web.

"What's the point of cleaning, anyway? It's all just going to get dirty again..."

"Spring cleaning, Izaya, is practically a tradition. Secondly, it's musty in here, and I can't stand getting covered in dust anytime I go to file something. Besides," Namie had come upstairs as she spoke, and now set a pile of books down at his feet, "it's unhealthy to have that much dirt around the house."

"Like I care?" he muttered, flicking a trailing cobweb at her back.

"Well obviously, you don't. So that's why I have to take care of it."

"Then why can't you take care of it without my help?"

Izaya saw her reach for the broom and quickly returned to his chore.

As she descended the stairs, Izaya picked up the books she had left, filing them on the shelf.

"I remember why I hired you to do this..." he muttered, "I hate organizing books."

"Oh, Izaya, I need that feather duster. Bring it down here, would you?"

Muttering complaints, Izaya trudged down the stairs.

He turned the corner just in time to see Namie begin to remove pieces from his chess board.

With a strangled cry, Izaya ran over, grabbing her around the waist and lifting her away from his precious game. Setting her down, he glanced sharply over his shoulder.

She had only moved two pieces, and thankfully, he knew where both went.

"Don't...touch...anything..." he breathed, taking the chess pieces from her startled grip. "If you MUST have this table cleaned, then let me do it."

He turned to the board, replacing the players, and he heard Namie sigh in exasperation.

"You are impossible."

* * *

"Hey Namie?"

"What is it this time?"

"What am I supposed to do with this?'

"It's a broom, Izaya. It's not that hard to figure out..."

"Not that! I mean all the stuff that I swept up. I don't just leave it here, do I?"

"Of course not, you idiot!"

"Well what am I supposed to do with it?"

"Eat it." Namie said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"WHAT?"

"Izaya, you're hopeless..." she muttered. "Do you see the dustpan?"

"...the what now?"

"The flat, triangular plastic thing that was attached to the broom?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Sweep the dust into it, then cary it into the other room and throw the dust away."

"Oh! So _that's_ what it's for!"

"Izaya, you can be so dense sometimes...

* * *

"EEW!"

"What?"

"GROSS!"

"What are you freaking out about now, Izaya?"

"Namie, come here, you _have_ to look at this!"

"Okay, _now_ I'm worried..."

With a patronizing sigh, Namie ascended the opposite side of the ladder to examine the tops of the fan blades with Izaya.

Sure enough, they were covered in such a disgusting filth that it would require a censoring pixilation in most children's shows.

"That's...nasty..." she muttered.

"How did this all GET up here? I mean, the fan blades spin! You think it would all fall off or something!"

"Apparently not. Now get rid of it."

"Why me? I don't want to touch it!"

"Then put on gloves."

"How is that any different?"

Ignoring him, Namie returned to the other room.

Muttering complaints, Izaya went to get a pair of gloves and LOTS of hand sanitizer.

* * *

"Namie!"

"What is it this time?" the pretty young scientist all but snarled as she set her broom down and followed Izaya's voice into the study.

Upon entering the room, she immediately clapped her hands over her mouth.

One, because there was so much dust in the air.

Two, because she was trying to keep from laughing.

"Namie, this-*cough cough*-stupid machine isn't-*cough cough*-working!"

"Izaya," she managed at last, "You have to put the dust collector back in the vacuum before you start using it..."

"Oh..."

* * *

Izaya stared into the soap bubbles.

"You want me to do _what_ now?"

"Wash the floor. Anything that's tile needs to be cleaned."

"But I JUST swept it half an hour ago!"

"Yes, you did. And now you need to wash it."

Muttering complaints and threatening to kill the person who invented spring cleaning, Izaya took the rag Namie had provided and plunged it into the warm water.

As he drew his arms back out, the soap bubbles clung to him. The information broker gave his arm a shake, hoping that they would fall of.

Which they didn't.

Then he tried blowing them off.

That moved a few, but only sent them flying onto the side of the counter.

Getting annoyed, Izaya began to flap his bent arms up and down like a chicken, still trying to hold the rag in his hands.

This splattered soap suds across the rest of the vertical surfaces of the kitchen.

Izaya dropped the rag back in the bucket quickly, trying to wipe the foam off himself.

If Namie saw this mess...

But fate loves screwing people over, and so it would have it that Namie chose that moment to walk into the kitchen and check on how Izaya was doing.

"Well, originally I was going to leave the cabinets for another day," Namie said, observing Izaya's latest mess, "but seeing as you've got them all soapy already, why not wash them as well?"

Izaya sprawled across the floor in a pathetic heap.

"Curse you fate...curse you karma...curse you Kira Yamato..."

"Stop complaining and get working, Izaya!" Namie called over her shoulder, "I swear, if you spent _half_ as much time cleaning as you did whining, then we'd be done already!"

Muttering to himself in misery, Izaya rooted around the bucket till he located his rag, flicked the clinging foam on the nearest cabinet, and begun scrubbing it.

* * *

"There! Finished!" Namie chirped, placing her hands on her hips and glancing over the clean apartment.

Outside the now crystal-clear windows, the lights of the city could be seen through the dark.

Izaya sighed and collapsed onto the couch. His entire day had been WASTED.

"About freaking time we finished..."

"Now the only thing that's left is to-"

"Oh no you don't!" Izaya snapped, quickly grabbing her around the waist and pulling her back into his lap. "You assign one more chore, and I'm personally turning you in to the police. We're watching TV for the rest of the evening."

With a shrug, Namie took the bandana from her hair and snatched the clicker.

"Fine."

* * *

Yeah...three guesses as to who was stuck doing chores today. ^^

And for those of you who have ever looked at the top of your fan blades, you know what I'm talking about...they're _gross_...*shudder*

Thanks for sticking with my insanity for so long!

I have an outline for another chapter, just have to fill in details. A LOT of details.

Thanks to all who have reviewed my story so far! And more reviews are always welcome! (And greatly appreciated.)

Well, bed-time. See-ya later! ^^


	4. Singing, Sickness & Something Unexpected

Back again with another update!

I don't own Durarara, and probably will not antime in the near future.

Oh, and thanks to TohrutheGreat for this first oneshot. Your idea was _brilliant_.

* * *

"Izaya...?"

The information broker sighed as he heard the tone in Namie's voice.

It was sugary sweet, yet with a sharp undercurrent of annoyance, telling him that trouble awaited at the bottom of the stairs.

This couldn't be good.

Getting to his feet and making his way downstairs, his eyes quickly found Namie.

His wife looked mildly annoyed, but most of the emotion coming off of her told Izaya that she just wasn't in the mood to deal with whatever the problem was this time.

It was his turn today.

Izaya turned his attention to the other person who stood in the doorway.

The young dark-haired boy standing next to Namie wore an expression of shame.

Not shame because he'd done something bad, but shame because he'd been caught.

"Your son was caught graffiting the school again." Namie reported, sounding exhausted.

Izaya walked over, absently running a hand through Namie's dark hair as he towered over his son. The boy looked up at him with Namie's pleading eyes, but Izaya wasn't phased.

"Haven't I told you before? Don't get caught!"

"Izaya!" his wife scolded, turning on him sharply.

Laughing, he caught her in his arms.

"Just kidding, Namie-chan. I'll talk with him."

His wife stared at him for another second, then sighed.

"Alright. I'll go get dinner started."

Izaya watched her walk away, then turned back to his miniature graffiti artist.

Only to find him being held in a tackle-hug by his other son.

This one had somehow ended up with one of Namie's old quirks - unnatural love of sibling.

This was just a bit weirder, because they were both boys.

"Hey, hey, let your brother go." Izaya chided, attempting to pry the second son off of the first. He succeeded, and as he held the two an arms-length apart, he could hear the footsteps of his third son.

They sounded a bit...loud.

"Daddy!"

Izaya slowly turned to regard his third child.

The blonde boy stood about 10 feet from Izaya, the stick of a lollipop hanging out of his mouth and the kitchen fridge hefted over his head.

The boy looked just like a younger version of...

The fridge flew toward Izaya.

* * *

WHAP!

Izaya sat up, spluttering in shock, to find a pillow lying in his lap - one that smelled suspiciously like Namie's hair conditioner.

"Wake up, moron. You're talking in your sleep again." A groggy voice snapped from his doorway, "Or, more correctly, yelling. You woke me up."

"S-sorry, Namie-chan..." Izaya mumbled, rubbing his temples.

Thank goodness...just a dream...

* * *

Namie watched Izaya, her eyes narrowed to a sleepy glare.

The moron's cries had woken her up from the only full night's sleep she would have gotten this entire week. And she wasn't happy.

She would have at _least_ liked to get an apology from him, but Izaya sat in his bed, ignoring her completely. She walked over to stand beside him.

"I'll take that back." She muttered, snatching her pillow from Izaya's grip.

He looked up at her, his eyes scanning her body in relief.

"It was just a dream." he grinned.

Muttering to herself, Namie left the room.

"Stupid Izaya...stupid dream...yelling randomly in the middle of the night...waking me up...talking about being _pregnant_ of all things...with triplets no less..."

Unfortunately, Izaya, having only made out her saying the words 'me', 'pregnant', and 'with triplets' promptly fainted.

* * *

Playing Sick

* * *

"Oooh..."

"..."

"OOOOOHHH..."

"Izaya, moaning louder isn't making me believe this sickness any more than I originally did. Now stop acting like a baby and get up."

"Namie, I'm _dying_ of fever..."

"And what do you want me to do about it?"

She regretted the question as soon as she asked it. There would only be one reply from him...

"You're a doctor, look me over."

And there it was.

With a sigh, Namie walked over to Izaya.

She was going to teach him a lesson.

Taking his wrist in her hand, as if to take his pulse, she placed her fingers against the palm of his hand instead of his vein.

"Hm..." she mused, "very weak pulse..."

"Um, Namie? Aren't you doing that wro-"

"Hey, I'm the doctor here! I think I'm a bit more qualified than you."

Izaya lapsed back into silence.

Namie left to fetch a thermometer from the medical cabinet, then came back and pressed the end to Izaya's forehead.

"Um...Namie?"

"Oh, silly me." she laughed, taking the thermometer back.

She turned it around, pressing the globe part to Izaya's forehead, "I had it the wrong way."

After another minute, she took it back, clicking her tongue.

"Very low temperature...you are pretty sick...let me check your weight."

Izaya followed her to the bathroom scale, a skeptical look crossing his face.

He got on the scale, and Namie quickly wrote down his weight.

Then, being careful that he couldn't read the scale, took her own weight.

"Here. Lend me a calculator."

Izaya's look became a bit worried, but he did as he was told.

Dividing his weight by hers, she gasped quietly.

"This doesn't look good...not at all..."

Izaya had begun to sweat, looking at her nervously.

Namie left the room, grabbing the nearest cleaning chemical she could find and a needle.

"Don't worry, Izaya. A little injection of this and you'll be back to normal in no time." she smiled sweetly at him.

That was all it took.

His nerve left him when he saw her holding a bottle of bleach, and Izaya bolted for the door. As it slammed shut, and Namie listened to his retreating footsteps in the hall, she smiled.

Then she burst out laughing.

She couldn't help it.

The terrified expression on Izaya's face had been priceless.

And now she had the rest of the day to spend in peace.

* * *

Karaoke

* * *

"Hey Namie, wanna go to Karaoke?"

"Not really."

"You never want to go anywhere, though!"

"If you know that, then why do you keep asking?" she replied, "Or is this because all your online chat buddies are planning another get-together and you weren't invited?"

Izaya winced slightly.

"Are you coming or not?"

"Are you going to stop pestering me if I say no?"

"No."

"Then fine, I'll come, if _only_ to shut you up."

"Great! Grab a coat and let's go!"

"What, now?"

"Yes now!"

"But I'm in the middle of-"

"You can finish that later, I don't need it filed till Tuesday. Come _on_ Namie..."

With a sigh, she set the papers down and allowed Izaya to drag her out the door.

* * *

Namie stood before the machine, shifting her weight from one foot to the other in embarrassment as the music began to play.

She glanced back over her shoulder at Izaya who nodded encouragingly.

As the song started to play, Namie half-sang half-spoke the lyrics.

She wasn't really trying, she couldn't be bothered.

As expected, her score wasn't very good. 35.

Izaya stood, taking the mic from her, and she took his seat.

To Namie's shock, Izaya began his chosen song. His singing wasn't scratchy, or flat, or off-beat.

He was hitting the notes pretty well, but like her, he was only singing about half the time. The rest of the words were spoken.

As the song drew to a close, and the scores began to flash across the screen, Namie felt a slight horror come over her as the total was displayed.

"Ha-ha! 41! YES!" Izaya cheered.

She couldn't believe it.  
Izaya had beaten her score.

"Forty-one?"

"Ha-ha! Looks like you're struggling a bit with this, Namie-chan!" Izaya grinned, holding out the mic.

Snatching it from him, Namie scrolled through the song options, finding one of her favorites, and shot a glare at Izaya. She would show him 'struggling'...

* * *

Izaya watched in half-horror as Namie creamed his attempt and got double his last score.

"Woo-hoo! Eighty-five! Beat THAT Izaya!"

He stood, taking the mic.

"I think I will."

* * *

Shock and horror again took over Namie's features.

Izaya had not only managed to meet her score, but exceed it by 3 points.

He was _good_.

A little bit more nervous this time, she reached out to take the mic from Izaya.

To her surprise, though, he didn't let it go.

"I want to try something. You know this song?"

Namie nodded. It was a popular song, they played it on the radio all the time.

As the words began to scroll, Izaya held the mic between the two of them, and realization dawned on her.

It was a _duet_.

A sappy love song duet.

Feeling a blush creeping over her face, she avoided looking at Izaya.

Why _this_ song?

Izaya seemed to realize the same thing a minute later, and color came to his cheeks.

"Um...well...maybe this wasn't the best song..."

But it was too late, and the music had started.

As the first like of lyrics showed up, Namie's line, she was so embarrassed that she could hardly manage to say them, nonetheless sing them.

"When I hold you in my arms, I know the night won't feel so lonely..."

Izaya wasn't any better, and his lines ended up fading off into quiet words.

"You know my heart belongs to you, completely, and you only..."

By the end of the round, neither of them had done much singing, both wore bright red blushes, and their score was pathetic.

21.

Glaring at the screen, Izaya shot her a glance.

Namie was frustrated with the score as well, and returned his glance.

She wasn't going to let this song (or Izaya's presence, for that matter) mess up her score. She wasn't going to get flustered this time.

Izaya apparently felt the same way, because he re-started the song and pressed the mic into Namie's hands.

"When I hold you in my arms..."

Namie closed her eyes, so she wouldn't see the stupid grin on Izaya's face, concentrating on the words and hitting the right notes.

Izaya took the mic from her and did the same thing as he sang his verse, closing his eyes so he wouldn't mess up.

As the song drew to a close, and they finished the last line in unison, Namie watched the screen closely for their score.

As numbers began to flash, she could feel herself smile.

They'd done well.

Now the total...

Namie squeaked in surprise and Izaya's jaw dropped.

100.

They had hit top score.

"Omigoshdoyouseethat?" Namie said, turning to Izaya.

Before they had even really registered it, the two had clasped each other in a happy hug.

"That means we win a prize! Right?"

Namie nodded, thrilled.

"I wonder what it'll be?"

There was a second of silence, in the space of which Namie's mind seemed to register that Izaya was hugging her.

"Wh-why are you touching me?"

"Me touching-? You're the one who latched onto me! All that sappy music went to your head!" He said defensively.

"Don't you _even_ try to pin this on me!"

When the employee came to deliver their prize, he watched the two argue for a moment, wondering to himself how they'd managed to get a perfect score on something where they had to work together.

* * *

Well, that's all for now.

Thanks for sticking with me, and reviews are welcome! ^^

Bye!


	5. Can't Be Bothered With a Clever Title

Hi again!  
Long time no update, huh? I've been trying to put an even ammount of fluff and funny together in each group of oneshots, but lately they've been more fluff than anything else. (Blame fanart...) So I've been waiting for some funny inspiration to write itself and balance it out.

Only two oneshots today, though, not three. And the next one will probably be really long, so...

I don't own Durarara, but the bribes should start paying off sometime soon... ^^ *wink*

* * *

Can't Help But Stare

* * *

Namie looked into Izaya's dark eyes.

He was watching her with an expression close to amusement, but kept his mouth fixed in a straight line, refusing to smile.

The two sat on the floor across from one another, and Namie shifted her position slightly, not breaking Izaya's gaze.

The carpet was beginning to irritate the skin on her legs.

She ignored that, though, focusing her attention on the information broker who sat before her.

Izaya's eyes were actually very interesting, as were any human's eyes, if you took the time to look at them, but his were especially so. His irises seemed to be a red-brown shade, with flecks of crimson in them. The pupils were large, compensating for the poor lighting, and - my, my - he had very long eyelashes.

It didn't make his eyes girly, as she had suspected, though. It seemed only to make his harsh gaze just a bit more gentle.

Especially when combined with the blank expression he wore.

She could tell that his gaze was unfocused.

He wasn't looking 'at' her so much as he was looking 'through' her, his gaze fixed on some distant image that she couldn't see.

Above them, the ceiling fan was sending down random air currents, and she quietly seethed against it.

But her gaze didn't falter from Izaya's face.

She shifted again, brushing her hair back from her shoulders.

Izaya's gaze seemed to return to the present as she moved, and he slowly took in the features of her face.

A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.

Cocking her head slightly to the side, Namie blinked once, questioningly.

Now Izaya's grin was huge, and realization hit Namie half a second later.

"No! Damnit!" she cried, leaning forward sharply in defeat.

He'd won again.

Izaya's laugh echoed around her mockingly as she smacked herself in the forehead with her palm. He'd got her again. And she'd fallen for the same stupid trick.

Looking up, Namie shot him a glare.

"Again?" he asked quietly.

She nodded once, sharply, scrunching her eyes closed for a few seconds before fixing them on his face, which was now split with a huge, triumphant smile.

This time, she wouldn't let him win.

She wouldn't fall for his clever distractions.

He would be the first to blink.

* * *

Izaya Proposes Something Strange

* * *

Namie and Izaya looked up sharply as someone pounded on their apartment door.

"Wonder who that is?" Izaya murmured.

Namie went over to answer it, glancing through the peephole to see who was there.

A small noise escaped her lips, and she promptly fled the room.

Izaya watched her for a second, confused, before his curiosity got the better of him and he went to open the door.

"Izaya, no!" he heard her hiss from somewhere behind him as he threw the latch.

He saw Namie duck quickly into the kitchen as he opened the door.

Standing outside was a police officer.

Izaya closed the door again immediately.

Realizing how suspicious his actions seemed only when the cop knocked a second time, Izaya opened the door once more.

"Hello, can I help you?" He asked with what he hoped was a pleasant smile.

"Yeah, you can." The cop said, taking an uninvited stride into the room, "We've been getting complaints from some of the other residents about you housing a female employee in your apartment. Most of them suspect some indecent things going on - we've been receiving complaints about possible prostitution -" Izaya was faintly aware of Namie's infuriated squeak from the other room, "and they want you to move out."

Forcing a good-natured chuckle, Izaya shook his head.

This wasn't good. He had to think, and fast.

For Izaya, telling the truth wasn't a strong point, and so he concocted a grand lie.

"No, no. You are _quite_ mistaken. Namie, dear, come out here a moment." He called warmly, hoping that the kind tone in his voice would be enough to reassure her.

Fortunately, it was, and Namie crept over to stand at his side, eyeing the cop with a mixture of pure hatred and guarded mistrust.

"You see, while it is true that I was Miss-_Namie's_" Izaya quickly switched to her first name, for fear of the cop recognizing the name 'Yagiri', "employer, Namie-chan is now my fiancée, and we've been living together for a while."

He could feel Namie's grip tighten in his arm, and knew that she was mentally screaming 'what the hell are you doing?' at him.

The cop looked the two of them over for a second.

"I don't see either of you wearing engagement rings."

_Damn._ Izaya thought. How was he going to explain his way out of this one?

Fortunately for him, though, Namie intervened.

"Well, my boyfriend is such a _horrible_ suck-up, that he was going to let me pick out the ring myself so that he's sure it's the one I want, then he was going to get a matching one. In fact, we were just on out way out to pick them, weren't we?"

Izaya nodded dumbly, hoping the cop would buy her excuse.

Fortunately, he did, and Izaya let him out before ushering Namie out the door, (being sure to lock the apartment behind him in case the cop decided to go snooping) and heading toward town.

The information broker let out a loud sigh of relief once the cop was out of hearing range.

"Nosy neighbors..." Namie was all but snarling, "If I ever get my hands on the bastard that thought I was a prostitute...!"

Izaya patted her head, smiling.

"Now, now, if you killed anyone, then the police would only come back again."

"I never said I was going to kill him." Namie corrected, "I merely insinuated that if he happens to vanish one night, and someone found his dissected body in a dumpster weeks later..."

Izaya laughed.

"You don't even know which one it was."

She let out a suffering sigh, her shoulders slumping.

"Yeah."

Izaya patted her on the head sympathetically.

"This place looks as good as any." Namie said suddenly, turning into a store.

"Heh?" Izaya asked, turning mid-step to follow her.

"You promised to buy me whatever ring I wanted, right? I'm going to choose one."

Shaking his head and laughing quietly, Izaya followed the pretty young scientist.

After a few minutes of searching, Namie had found a ring that suited her taste.

It was a simple silver band, the top half studded around the center with small, flat diamonds.

She'd also wanted her name inscribed inside the ring.

Izaya had winced slightly as he saw the total, but he made enough money so that it didn't really affect his spending cash too badly.

He took the ring from the salesclerk and left the store, Namie following at his heels.

When they got outside, he turned to the pretty young scientist, and she reached for the box.

The information broker quickly pulled the ring out of her reach.

"H-hey!" Namie said in surprise, reaching for the box again, "Give it back!"

"One condition," Izaya grinned, holding the box just out of her reach, "You have to be my fiancee."

"Wha-?"

Namie took a step back in surprise, and Izaya's grin widened.

"You heard me. If you want the ring, you have to agree to be my fiancee."

"Well...I...that's...!"

A laugh escaped the information broker's lips at the expression on Namie's face.

She hadn't seen _that_ coming.

"What do you plan on doing with the ring if I decline?" Namie said, crossing her arms defiantly, "You can't return it."

"I have thirty teenage girls who worship me, I'm sure that one of them would enjoy it."

Namie glared at him for a second, hesitating, then turned her back.

"Fine. Give it to one of them."

Izaya drooped.

"Namie..."

Wrapping his arms around her waist, he leaned his head on her shoulder and fixed her with his best puppy-dog eyes.

"Why not?"

She opened her mouth to reply, but was unable to come up with a reason.

A second later, she gave up and sighed.

"Alright, fine, Izaya..."

He perked up, and Namie turned her head away.

"I'll be your fiancee..."

Smiling, Izaya pressed the ring box into her hands and kissed her cheek.

"Thanks, Namie-chan!"

Then, taking her hand in his, he began all but skipping back in the direction of their apartment.

"Hey, this means we can share a bed!"

"Don't you _even_ get any ideas..." she muttered, cheeks burning.

Izaya laughed, and Namie had to smile a little herself.

Odds were that they would never actually get married, but she didn't care.

This might actually be fun.

And, after all, the _last_ thing this town needed was to have a bunch of little Izaya's running around if they ever decided to have kids together.

* * *

Seiji and Mika were walking together through the park, enjoying the nice weather.

He glanced over at the girl, and they exchanged a smile.

Seiji had found that he really didn't mind the girl's company after all, and reminded himself to thank Namie.

His sister had gone to so much trouble to make sure that he was happy, even endangering herself.

And not only had she granted him his life's wish, but she had dealt with the annoying stalker girl too. In fact, he couldn't have thought up a more perfect plan if he'd tried.

Seiji looked up as he heard humming, and was shocked to see Izaya skipping happily through the park, swing his arms and humming as loud as he possibly could, a gigantic grin plastered across his face.

"What's wrong with _you_?" he muttered as the information broker pranced by.

"Ah, Seiji-kun!" he smiled, "Congratulate me!"

"...why?" he asked at length, his tone suspicious.

Izaya's grin widened, but surprisingly, it didn't contain as much evil intention as Seiji had expected. In fact, there was something that seemed genuinely happy about it.

But that served only to unnerve him even more. Especially when the information broker proudly proclaimed: "I'm engaged to your sister!"

* * *

Izaya smiled down at the boy, watching his expression for the surprise and eventual happiness that he expected.

After all, this would mean that Seiji wouldn't have to fend off his sister's attention any more.

But to his surprise, Seiji's eyes flashed, and the boy grabbed Izaya roughly by the collar.

"You..." he snarled,

Izaya blinked in surprise.

Where was this reaction coming from?

Shouldn't Seiji be happy to finally be rid of his 'other stalker'?

But his action was explained in his next sentence.

"You'd better take good care of my sister. You hear me? Cause if this is just another one of your little games...!" he threatened.

Izaya shot him what he hoped was a pacifying smile.

"Not to worry. I'm serious about this. I really like Namie-chan."

Seiji hesitated another minute, then nodded once, letting Izaya's collar go.

"Fine then. You'd better treat her like a princess, 'cause we both know she is one."

Izaya laughed.

"That she is."

* * *

Well, how was it?

I know I sort of got risky with that second one, but I heard a rumor that the two got engaged in the novel, and jumped at the chance to explain how it happened. Hope to have more up soon, just need to finish the next chapter and touch some stuff up.

As always, reviews are welcome and appreciated!

Bye! ^^


	6. Warning, LOOOOONG Chapter Ahead

Hey guys!

Sorry for not posting for so long, but I haven't done much writing recently because of a week-long depression after they kicked Brad off of the Next Food Network Star.

Kidding.

(Though I was really upset by that, especially cause he's cute...)

The real reason is that my schedule is getting busy, and my internet has been giving me problems, (thanks a heap, AT&T) but I'm getting the next chapter up now! It's really long, so think of it as a reward for your patience and something to keep you busy till I get more free time to write.

I'll also apologize ahead of time for the opening to the second one. It's lame, and I know it, but I really had no other way to lead up to what happens in the second half of it. Also, apologies for any spelling mistakes or grammar errors. I didn't get to proofread this as well as I would have liked to.

Disclaimer: I do not own Durarara.

Though I do own Inuyasha...

(Yeah, right. Dream on, Kage-Tora...Dream on...)

ENJOY!

* * *

Misfortunes

* * *

SHATTER.

"Shi-!"

Namie cut herself off mid-curse and knelt sharply, trying to pick up the shattered glass before...

Izaya walked in from the other room to see what the noise was.

When he saw Namie kneeling over the scattered remains of his mirror, though, he immediately ducked back out of the doorway.

"Wh-what have you done?" he cried, "Namie! That's SEVEN years of bad luck!"

Namie rolled her eyes.

Of _course_ Izaya, who believed in fairies and legends and such, would have an avid superstition about broken mirrors.

"Izaya, that's just an old wives' tale..." Namie began, standing, but Izaya cut her off.

"Don't come near me!" he cried, leaping back, "I'll get infected too!"

"That's ridiculous!"

"No it's not! Anyone who touches someone who broke a mirror, before the person who broke it has held a good luck charm for five minutes, will get cursed as well!"

"Okay, now I'm _sure_ you're making this up..."

"Maybe I am, but either way, stay back!"

Muttering complaints to herself and questioning Izaya's sanity for the hundredth time, she returned to picking up glass shards.

"Go get me something to put this in." she ordered.

Hesitating briefly, Izaya left the doorway.

A few seconds later, he returned.

He tossed the bag into the room before running away.

As Namie picked it up, she noticed that he had taken the time to scribble some good luck charms onto the bag, and rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"Really, Izaya, this obsession can't be healthy..."

* * *

Namie woke up.

There was a very loud, sharp beeping sound, and a light was flashing somewhere overhead.

"What on earth...?" she hissed, getting out of bed and running to the hall.

Izaya was out there already, running up and down the length of the bookshelf like a chicken with its head cut off, trying to collect his most important files and stuff them into his coat pocket.

Dark, billowing smoke was collecting around the ceiling.

"Izaya! What's going on?"

"Fire! Come on!"

Before she could react, he had grabbed her wrist and began dragging her down the stairs.

"Izaya! I'm hardly dressed!"

Not slowing down, Izaya cast a glance at her over his shoulder, taking in her almost-sheer negligee for a second before he took off his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders.

"Do you _sleep_ in that coat or something?" she muttered, trying to hide a slight blush.

"Now is _not_ the time, Namie-chan..."

The two made their way to the street and watched as the firemen arrived and doused the flames in the apartment above theirs.

"That idiot..." Izaya was mumbling, "He gets forgetful, leaves his stove on when he goes out, and nearly burns my apartment and all my papers - my life's work - to the ground!"

Namie patted his hand, which rested on her opposite shoulder.

It was cold outside, and she was shivering despite Izaya's coat.

He looked up at her with a pathetic glare.

"You just _had_ to break that frigging mirror..."

"Again with the mirror! Get over it!" she snapped, "You can't blame every little thing on bad luck from the broken mirror."

Izaya mumbled something about 'worse luck coming to non-believers' and returned his attention to the apartment.

* * *

Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip.

Namie moaned and rolled over, gradually waking up as something dripped on her.

The mattress of her bed was soaked, and her entire body was wet and sore from the cold and moisture. She glared up at the ceiling as another drip landed on her nose, and could see water drops squeezing their way between the wood.

When the firemen had put out the flames, and everyone had returned to their apartments, they hadn't bothered to clean the water from the apartment above them, and now it had found the only crack in the ceiling, which just so happened to be overtop of her bed.

With a groan, she sat up.

Getting to her feet, she grabbed a towel from the bathroom, wrapping it around herself, and went to go get a large mixing bowl from the kitchen to place under the drips.

That done, she made her way to Izaya's bedroom (against her better judgment) and gave the sleeping information broker a sharp poke.

"Izaya."

He didn't stir.

Again, she poked him, but a little harder this time, hissing his name.

"Izaya!"

Again, nothing.

It was then that she noticed the bottle of sleeping pills on his dresser, alongside a half-empty glass of water.

The poor information broker had returned to the apartment to find that everything on his desk was soaked, and had stayed up for another 3 hours laying the papers carefully out to dry.

He had apparently taken a full dose, because try as Namie might, she couldn't get his eye lids to so much as flutter open for a second.

"I-ZA-YA!" she tried one more time, almost shouting right in his ear, but the information broker didn't so much as twitch.

With a sigh, she gave up.

Pushing Izaya to the far side of the bed (cause she didn't have the heart to toss the traumatized information broker out on the floor) she climbed under the covers and tried to resume her sleep.

* * *

Namie woke for the third time that night.

She wondered why for a second, then she became aware of the death grip Izaya had on her.

The information broker was dreaming, mumbling something incoherent as he snuggled up against her.

She tried to wriggle free of his arms, and shove him back on his side of the bed, but even in his sleep, he was too strong for her to overpower.

"Izaya, you moron, you're crushing me..." she snarled, trying to pry his fingers from around her waist.

But to no avail.

With a soft murmur, Izaya pulled her back against his chest, nuzzling his face into her hair.

"Izaya, for heaven's sake! Wake up!"

No response.

Namie twisted around to face him and braced her palms against his chest, distancing herself at arms' length, but the information broker only pulled her back a second later.

With a groan, she relented to his grip, realizing that she wasn't going to be able to get herself free. A second later, she was pulled tightly against the information broker's chest, and he murmured something unintelligible into her neck.

With a resigned sigh, Namie tried to get comfortable against Izaya.

It was going to be a _long_ night...

* * *

Izaya woke, his eyes still closed over groggily at the sunlight streaming through the window of his bedroom.

The information broker went to stretch, but found that his arms were engaged elsewhere.

"N-Namie?" he asked in surprise, sitting up as he found the dark-haired scientist cuddled up against him, his arms wrapped firmly around her waist.

She moaned quietly as he moved, her eyes opening slightly to glare at him.

"Namie-chan, what are you..."

She pinched his ear lobe sharply, dragging him down to eye level.

"Ow, ow, _ow_, Namie, go easy..."

"You," she snarled, "are never to take sleeping pills again."

Deciding it better for his health (and his poor ear) not to question this strange order, he nodded, taking her hand and gently prying her fingers loose.

"Okay, Namie. Whatever you say."

"Good," she mumbled, her glare replaced with a cute, sleepy expression, "Wake me up in three hours, kay?"

Confused by her sudden mood swing, Izaya nodded, and watched as Namie almost instantly dozed off.

Shrugging to himself, he decided to get answers later.

It was probably for the best that he just let her sleep.

* * *

"Augh! Izaya! _Why_ did you let me sleep in?" Namie wailed for about the hundreth time.

"Like I said the first time you asked this, you told me to wake you up in three hours! I didn't know you had anything planned..."

"And today was the only day they had open for the next _two months_!"

"Well, why can't you just go in late?"

Namie let out a long-suffering sigh, allowing her aching head to rest against her folded arms on the table.

"They don't accept you if you're more than 5 minutes late. Their schedule's too full. I'm over two hours late."

Izaya shrugged, leaning back against the counter top.

"You know, I think that if you hadn't broken that mirror..." he started.

Namie stood up sharply.

"Alright, THAT'S IT!"

Izaya was too surprised to respond as Namie turned on him, and he suddenly found himself leaned back across the countertop with Namie's hands around his throat.

"Any last words?" she asked darkly.

"I'm sorry!" He choked out, "It was a joke! A joke!"

She hesitated another second, then sighed, releasing his neck and letting herself collapse across his chest.

"Wonderful. Just freaking wonderful."

* * *

RIIIIIP.

"Oh great!"

Izaya glanced up from his work as he heard Namie start muttering curses.

Grinning, he was about to mention something about bad luck, when he realized what the sound had been.

The information broker clapped a hand over his nose as he felt blood begin to drip down over his lip. The side seam of Namie's skirt had torn.

And he could clearly see her black lace panties.

Namie hadn't noticed his gawking yet, and was trying to figure out the reason behind the tear.

"This was new! It didn't have any weak seams that I could see when I got it...and I wasn't near anything for it to get caught on..."

She happened to glance up.

"What are you _looking_ at, Izaya?"

He sharply hid his face behind his computer screen.

"Why are you covering your nose?"

Izaya tried to ignore her, thankful that the blood flow was slowing, but praying that she wouldn't come over.

"It's nothing, Namie." he replied, trying not to sound too nasally.

"Like hell it is. You've always got something going on..."

She had walked toward him, and not stood on the other side of his desk, giving him a pretty clear view of...

The nosebleed was now back again, in full force.

Namie's eyes widened in surprise as she saw the blood.

"Izaya, you're bleed-..."

But then she followed his gaze to the tear in her skirt.

"You pervert!"

SLAP.

"It's not my fault! You're the one who's flashing her panties!"

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!"

Blushing furiously, Namie fled the room to change as Izaya stuffed a handful of tissues against his face.

Admittedly, THIS sort of bad luck, he didn't mind her getting.

* * *

Namie stood over a pot of ramen, stirring it absently.

She _really_ felt like making Izaya suffer right now, especially after he had brought up the broken mirror again upon her finding a hole in her best pair of stockings.

_I'll bet that he's got this whole thing planned, and is causing all these bad things to happen just to mess with me._ she thought, her eyes narrowing to a glare.

Just as she was wishing for something _horrible_ to happen to Izaya, her eyes chanced on a small bottle that was sitting on the edge of the countertop.

Picking it up, she could make out the words 'potassium cyanide', and vaguely wondered why Izaya kept stuff like that around the house as she added it to his dinner.

"Let's see your stupid good luck charms get you out of this one..." she muttered, returning to her stirring.

* * *

Izaya let himself fall back into the kitchen chair.

"What's for dinner?" he asked Namie as the woman came from the kitchen, two bowls in her hands.

"Ramen. I didn't feel like really cooking."

"That's alright, I love Ramen." he grinned.

Namie took the place opposite him, fishing out a couple noodles with her chopsticks and blowing on them to cool them down before eating it.

Izaya shot her a grin, mimicking her move, but with four times as many noodles at once.

Once he had managed to swallow, he attempted a conversation with the brooding scientist.

"So how was your day?"

"Miserable, as always."

He winced slightly, smiling.

"That's harsh. I merely am showing concern for the well-fare of my favorite employee..."

She scoffed at this, but didn't reply.

"Well, I had a rather successful day, myself." Izaya attempted the conversation again, "My plans are coming along great."

There was no reaction from Namie, and Izaya dejectedly returned his attention to his food, fishing out another group of noodles.

"By the way, Namie," he said, holding the Ramen poised to eat, "what ever happened to that little bottle that I left in the kitchen?"

Izaya watched in surprise as Namie's eyes widened sharply, her face growing pale.

"Namie...?" he asked quietly.

She covered her mouth in shock, gently pushing the ramen away from herself, and Izaya instantly knew the fate of the contents of his bottle.

One look at Namie's horrified face, though, was enough to send him into a laughing fit.

"Oh, Namie! What kind of a criminal are you? Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! You poison your enemy's food, then you forget and eat it yourself! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Don't worry, though. After you broke that mirror, I locked up all my chemicals somewhere safe. That bottle only had water in it."

A look of relief crossed her face, accompanying the deep blush from her embarrassment.

"Oh shut up..."

Izaya couldn't help himself, and began laughing again.

"I just can't believe that you nearly poisoned your self because you forgot! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha..."

Shooting a half-hearted glare at him, Namie pulled her bowl back and miserably immersed herself in the task of eating.

Grinning, Izaya patted her hand lovingly.

"Maybe next time, Namie. Maybe next time..."

* * *

Namie heard the door to their apartment open, and got to her feet to greet Izaya as the information broker entered.

He had left early that morning, without so much as a word to her, and was just getting back now, well after dark.

And she wanted an explanation.

But Izaya had other ideas.

"Stop! Don't move!" he ordered sharply.

Namie slowly sat back down in the chair, watching Izaya approach her cautiously.

"Stop _looking_ at me like that, Namie."

She shot him a quick glare, but then turned her head.

Izaya stopped in front of her, and she could feel his hands gently brushing her hair back.

"Now, don't move."

She obediently sat still as he fiddled with something at the back of her neck.

Izaya leaned back a second later, nodding.

"There. THAT should do it."

Namie glanced down.

Now hanging around her neck was a gold pendant with a teardrop-shaped amber charm.

But that wasn't all.

The amber had a 4-leaf-clover preserved in the middle.

"Izaya..." she whispered.

"Now don't ever take that off!" he ordered, "Or at least not for the next seven years, otherwise _both_ our lives will be a living hell."

She couldn't help but smile.

"Thank you, Izaya."

He stretched and sauntered across the room with a forced casualness.

"Yeah, well, don't break anymore mirrors. Okay?"

She smiled.

"Sure."

* * *

Lessons Better Left Unlearned

* * *

"Boo!"

Namie shrieked in surprise as Izaya leaped out of the closet and grabbed her shoulders.

Her counter was as quick as her reaction, though, and Izaya found himself just as quickly laid out on the floor with a headache from the book Namie held.

"Izaya!" she snapped, "do you REALLY have nothing better to do with your time than scare the life out of me? You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

Rubbing his head in pain, but still laughing, Izaya got to his feet.

"You're just so much fun to scare. You looked so terrified! Besides, I enjoy frightening cowards like you. It's fun."

"I am _not_ a coward!" she snapped as he brushed past her.

"Uh-huh. Yeah. Sure. And that's why you're hiding from the police in _my_ apartment."

"I'm not hiding from the police! I work here, recall?"

Izaya turned around, and his grin instantly made Namie nervous.

"So you wouldn't mind if I called the police and invited one of them over for lunch?"

Namie didn't answer. She didn't dare.

If this idiot actually brought a cop into the house, she could be facing a big problem...

Mainly that she would be recognized and arrested.

But Izaya seemed to take her lack of reply as meaning that she didn't mind, and walked over to the phone.

Namie could only watch, horrified, as Izaya punched in three numbers and held the phone up to his ear.

Snapping out of it, Namie ran over and tried to grab the phone from his hand.

Smiling, he held it just out of her reach, distancing her with his free hand.

Namie turned sharply to the phone base and pressed the receiver down, ending the call.

Izaya smiled, setting the phone back.

"Silly Namie, don't you know that it's regulation for a cop to check on the address where a 911 call was cut off?" [Please don't try this at home, kids...I take no responsibility if you do...]

Namie felt her heartbeat speed up.

"But luckily for you," Izaya continued, "I didn't really dial 911. I just pressed three random buttons. This time, though..."

Namie made a sharp dive for the phone, but that wasn't what Izaya was after.

He deftly pulled out his cell.

"Izaya! Please, don't!" she practically begged, trying to get the phone from him as she saw him dial the three numbers.

He held the phone out of her reach, the screen facing her with 911 written on it, and his thumb resting on the send button.

"I liked the tone of your voice just there." Izaya grinned, "Maybe if you ask me nicely, I won't call."

What's that supposed to mean?" she asked, dreading the answer.

Izaya's grin spread.

"Get down on your knees and beg me."

"What?"

His eves glinted and his grin widened even more.

"_Beg_ me not to call them."

Namie stood for a moment, glaring.

But in the end, she valued her life more than her pride.

With a sigh, she let herself sink to her knees at Izaya's feet.

"Please?" she murmured, not looking to at him.

"Can't hear you..." Izaya said in a sing-song voice.

"Please..." she repeated, louder.

"Please what?"

"Izaya!"

She glared up at him angrily, but winced as Izaya placed his finger over the 'send call' button.

"I don't think that's good enough, Namie."

His finger pressed a little harder on the send button.

She gave in.

"Izaya, please..." she practically whimpered, focusing her gaze down on her hands.

She hated him _so_ much right now.

"Not very good, but it'll have to do."

He laughed, kneeling as well, taking her chin in his fingertips.

"But that's just as I suspected," he leaned in close, and she could feel his warm breath on her ear as he whispered a last, mocking, "my little coward."

He gently nipped her ear and Namie yelped.

Izaya laughed again.

She was getting sick of that sound...

"Are you afraid of me too, now?"

Namie slapped him, and Izaya laughed again mockingly at the blow.

Standing and turning on her heel, she went to her bedroom and slammed the door, locking it behind her.

"He's _such_ a child!" she cried in exasperation, sitting down hard on her bed.

She didn't need him to hide her. She wasn't a coward!

But deep down in her heart, Namie knew he was right.

She was hiding, and she was relying on Izaya to keep her safe.

It infuriated her to no end that she had to trust that...that..._creep,_ with her safety...

She wanted to show him.

She wanted to show him up so badly that it hurt.

Namie stood up sharply.

She would get him back.

And she didn't care what she had to go through in order to do so.

* * *

"Where are you going, Namie?"

"None of your business."

Izaya spun his chair around so that he could face his secretary, instead of relying on her reflection in the window of his apartment.

"You're my employee. I have a right to know where you're going."

Namie turned to him, a calm, almost amused expression on her face.

"I was going out to antagonize the local police force. I'm feeling particularly suicidal tonight." she replied, before walking out and closing the door behind her.

Izaya chuckled, spinning himself around in his chair - a favorite pastime.

She was so funny.

Namie wouldn't really bother the police; if one of them recognized her, she would end up in jail, possibly followed by a worse punishment.

But as the information broker looked out his apartment window after Namie, he could see her beginning to walk toward the scary new traffic cop, who was parked on the corner.

Scrambling to his feet, Izaya ran for the door.

She was serious.

* * *

Namie wasn't scared. She was in a numbed state, sort of a mix between shock and annoyance.

She would show Izaya.

She was no coward.

And she wanted to do something stupid to prove it.

As she approached the cop, the rational part of her brain told her to run, but it was drowned out by her less rational thoughts of proving him wrong.

Less than ten feet stood between her and a probably life-long-imprisonment.

The cop was facing the opposite direction.

He hadn't noticed her yet.

Another step forward.

He still didn't turn around.

Another step, and Namie was now close enough that she could have reached out and touched the cop if she'd wanted to.

One more pace and she would be standing at the edge of his vision.

But as she began that stride, a hand clapped sharply over her mouth and she was dragged back into the shadows of a nearby alley.

Thinking that he had heard something, the cop took his eyes from the traffic for a brief second, scanning the sidewalk around him quickly, but there was no one there.

* * *

Namie cringed as Izaya pinned her against the concrete wall roughly.

"Would you care to explain just what in HELL'S name you're trying to accomplish?"

Namie glared back at him, almost sulkily.

"I told you what I was doing before I left. You didn't seem to have a problem with it at the time."

"Well I didn't think you were serious!" he snapped, inadvertently tightening his grip.

"You're supposed to be the all-knowing one! Or at least you _claim_ to be! Can't you tell the difference between a bluff and a threat?" Namie snapped.

"Is _that_ what it was? A _threat_?" Izaya asked, and Namie focused her gaze down as she thought she heard ridicule in his tone.

Trying to change the subject before he could make her feel even more stupid and childish than she did already, Namie looked back up at him sharply.

"Why did you stop me?"

Izaya's eyes widened and he blinked a few times sharply.

He hadn't expected that question.

It was Izaya's turn to look away, but only for a second, as he thought up a witty answer.

"It's my personal hobby to stop pretty, suicidal young women from getting themselves killed, remember?"

With a sigh, Namie tried to pull away from Izaya's grip, but the information broker wouldn't let her go.

"Where do you think you're running off to this time, Namie?"

Another sigh from her.

"I _was_ going home."

"But you live with me, remember?"

Namie allowed a patronizing tone to enter her voice.

"Yes, but in case you hadn't noticed, I'm rather sick of your company at the moment. I was going to stay in my old apartment-"

"Can't. Police found it."

"-or with my brother." she finished.

Izaya snorted.

"Like I'm really going to let you do that. Heaven knows what you'd do to that poor boy if you were left alone with him for the night..."

Namie was about to reply that she's been perfectly able to control herself around her brother for the past 10 years, when she realized how badly Izaya would probably interpret that and decided not to reply at all.

"Come on." Izaya said softly after another second or so, giving her wrist a light tug, "Let's go home." And with that he began to walk away.

Namie unwillingly trailed after him, her wrist still locked firmly in his grip.

* * *

When they reached the apartment, Izaya let her wrist slip from his hand.

Namie walked inside a few steps ahead of Izaya as he stopped to close and lock the door, rubbing the reddened skin on her forearm.

She could hear his footsteps close behind hers as she ascended the stairs, but she didn't care.

She was actually really tired.

High on adrenaline and thoughts of vengeance, she had finally crashed, and was exhausted.

Namie practically fell backwards into her bed, her eyes closed before she even hit the mattress.

They didn't stay closed for long, though, as she felt something move beside her, and a warm body cuddled up against her own.

"IZAYA!"

Namie swung her opposite hand over to hit the information broker, but in one fluid move Izaya caught her wrist, re-directing her hit, and pulled her so she was lying across his chest.

Namie was too shocked to react beyond blinking.

Izaya took advantage of those seconds to weave a hand through Namie's hair and pull her into a gentle kiss.

After a second or so he leaned back, looking directly into her eyes.

"Please don't do anything stupid like that again." he whispered, his warm breath tickling her face, "I'd be lonely if you weren't here."

Izaya didn't move for another few seconds, then he sat up, Namie still in his arms, and carefully got to his feet, leaving her sitting on her bed watching him.

Namie felt a strange sensation in her stomach, and could feel the color coming to her cheeks as Izaya's eyes met hers again.

But then he smiled, a hint of his usual demonic self returning.

"Besides, I hate cooking for myself."

Temper back, Namie flung a pillow at the information broker's head as he retreated from the room; but when she fell asleep that night, she still dreamed of Izaya kissing her.

* * *

Risky Bets

* * *

"You're _so_ lucky that you have me here." Izaya commented absently.

"Oh? Why is that?" Namie snapped, whirling around to face him.

She had just finished one of the most horrible workdays of her life, coupled with the worst streak of bad luck she'd come across in a _long_ time, and was in NO mood to deal with Izaya's clever little word traps.

She would have rather thrown something at him than chatted with him.

"If I hadn't been so kind as to give you a job, the police would have found you and carted you off with the rest of their criminals." he grinned, watching her out of the corner of his eye.

He ducked just in time to miss getting nailed in the face with one of the sofa pillows.

"What makes you think it was _your_ intervention that kept me away from them? Huh? I could very well avoid the cops on my own. And I _certainly_ don't need _your_ help to do so." she replied huffily.

Izaya laughed.

"I doubt that."

"Prove it." Namie snapped, slamming her hands down on Izaya's desk, "Prove that it's you that's keeping the cops from getting me."

Izaya slowly stood, a grin forming across his face.

"Oh, I'll prove it."

Namie would have normally felt worried, but she was too annoyed to notice.

"I bet," Izaya began, walking around his desk to face Namie, "that if you were being hunted down, you couldn't keep yourself from being caught for 24 hours. I'm willing to take any punishment if I'm wrong. Just name it."

"Personal slave." Namie snapped, "You'll have to be my personal slave for a WEEK."

Izaya winced, but grinned.

"Harsh. But if you're wrong, guess what's happening to you..."

Izaya leaned in close, whispering something in Namie's ear.

Her eyes widened sharply, and she took a step back in horror.

"You-you wouldn't dare!"

His grin widened.

"Wouldn't I?"

Shuddering slightly, Namie took another step back.

"That's not fair, Izaya!"

Izaya glanced at the clock, ignoring what she'd just said.

"It's 10:00 P.M. exactly. If, by this time tomorrow, I haven't caught you, I'll be your personal slave for a week. Otherwise..."

Namie cringed.

"I'll give you 10 minutes."

Izaya stepped in close, his breath tickling Namie's ear.

"Run." he hissed.

Namie bolted for the door, only pausing to slip on her shoes and grab her coat.

Izaya watched the edge of Namie's white lab coat disappear through the door and chuckled to himself. She would be easy to spot, wearing white in the dark.

Glancing at the clock, he fell back into his desk chair, spinning himself in circles.

A ten-minute head start wouldn't do her much good.

"Run as much as you like, Namie, but I'll always find you...you can't hide from me in _my_ city, after all..."

He laughed maniacally to himself, watching the room spin around him.

* * *

Namie rounded another corner at a run.

Once she was sure that she couldn't be seen from the apartment, she took off her lab coat and stuffed it under one of the decorative bushes outside a department store.

Izaya would be asking around for someone wearing white.

That was no longer her description.

Smiling to herself, Namie continued to run. Now to confuse his path a bit more...

She turned down one alley, waiting for the people on the street to have passed, and then returned to the main street before darting into the next alley.

When Izaya asked people if they'd seen her, he would get pointed in a different and wrong direction by everyone he asked.

Once she'd repeated this a few times, she made a wide loop, keeping out of view of the apartment, and ran in the opposite direction from where she had started.

"Just _try_ to catch me, Izaya..." she muttered, allowing herself a grin.

He didn't know who he was messing with.

* * *

Izaya flounced down the street.

"Namie," he called jokingly into an alley, "Where are you hiding?"

He hadn't found her yet, which surprised and slightly aggravated him, but he was still cheerful.

After all, how hard could it be to spot a white lab coat in the dark?

Or, even better, how fast could Namie possibly run in those ridiculous heels of hers?

Smiling, Izaya returned to the main street.

He would catch her soon.

But then Izaya stopped dead in his tracks, eyes riveted on the flash of white he had seen.

Was that...Namie's lab coat?

The information broker walked over to the bush, tugging the material free.

Sure enough, it was her lab coat, and Izaya muttered a curse.

She'd gotten him that time.

Tricked him into thinking that she was panicked, and wasn't thinking her actions through.

"Clever girl..." he muttered, tossing her coat over his shoulder.

He would have to take her a bit more seriously.

* * *

Namie looked around.

No sign of the cocky jerk yet.

"Having a bit of trouble, Izaya?" she asked quietly under her breath, allowing a small smile to creep across her features.

Hadn't taken very much to throw him off.

Strolling through the park casually, she took in the city night life.

It was so peaceful...

"I see you Namie~chan!"

She turned around sharply as Izaya's faint voice reached her ears, mood shattered.

Where was he?

Then her eyes caught sight of the information broker.

A wide grin on his face, he sauntered toward her casually, his hands stuck in the pockets of his coat. "Didn't think I'd catch you this fast. It's a shame, you were doing so _well_ at first..."

Namie backed away, matching him pace for pace.

He was still far enough away so that he had to shout, but she didn't want to risk running.

Not yet.

As she neared the edge of the park, though, she began casting glances around out of the corners of her eyes.

She needed somewhere to run, and lay low till he'd passed.

There!

Her eyes locked on a nearby alleyway, filled with discarded crates.

It was pretty big, and close to her, plus had a lot of cover.

Perfect.

Turning sharply, she ran toward the alley, aware that Izaya was hot on her heels.

She reached the edge of the stacked crates, weaving sharply between them.

Making her way deep into the wooden forest, she pressed herself back into a corner.

She could hear Izaya following her, cursing as his larger size hindered his movements.

She grinned.

Time to ditch Izaya again.

But it seemed that he had other plans.

Izaya continued to search, and Namie got more nervous as he seemed to get closer with every sweep he made.

She pressed herself back into the corner.

He was near, the only thing separating them now was a stack of old, wooden crates.

The information broker's footsteps stopped, and Namie tensed.

There was silence for a moment, and she held her breath, sure that Izaya would, through some animal-like sense, be able to hear the faintest wisp of air as it left her lungs.

There was rustling as he dug something out of his coat pocket, then a series of soft beeps.

Wondering what it could be, Namie began to get a bad feeling.

Then she recognized what the beeps were from.

It was too late, though, and before she could do anything, her cell phone had gone off in her pocket, the music of the ringtone echoing around the alley.

Snapping it out, she quickly ended the call and turned it off, but not before Izaya located her hiding place and began squeezing his way between crates.

Namie turned and fled, using her smaller size and lithe figure to her advantage as she attempted to gain ground.

But the crates were stacked too far apart to slow Izaya's progress sufficiently.

Panicking as she rapidly lost what space she had put between them, Namie rounded the corner at the opposite side of the alley.

As her eyes took in the scene, though, she smiled.

_This_ should take care of Izaya _nicely_...

* * *

Izaya rounded the corner, smiling at what he found.

Namie had run into a dead end.

She stood, backed up into a corner, her small body trembling slightly as he approached.

Her wide eyes were locked onto his, and showed a slight panic.

Grinning, Izaya walked over, grabbing Namie's wrist and leaning close.

"Looks like you lost, Namie~chan..." he licked his lips once, pulling her against himself.

"Now you owe me what we agreed on..."

Before he could move another muscle, though, he felt a hand clutch a large handful of his collar from behind, and Namie pulled her wrist from his startled grasp.

Izaya's stomach dropped as he realized his mistake.

He could see the wicked smile crossing Namie's face as she hissed 'this is for cheating with the cell phone' a second before he was hefted into the air.

"IIIIZAAAAAAYAAAAAA...!"

The next thing that the information broker knew, he was lying head-first in a dumpster, three alleys over, his face already beginning to swell from one of Shizuo's 'Falcon punches'.

"Damn it, Namie...no fair involving Shizzy-chan..." he mumbled pathetically to no one in particular as he tried to fish himself out of the trash.

He was SO going to get her back for this when she lost the bet...

* * *

Namie ran.

She'd lost him; _that_ she was sure of.

What she didn't like was the shadowed person who now followed her.

Taking another corner, she slammed into something.

"Well, well, what do we have here?"

Namie looked up in fright as she felt a strong pair of hands pin her arms to her sides.

The man was short, probably aged in his twenties, heavy-set, and had stubbly blonde hair and a few facial piercings.

Normally Namie would have been able to escape, but she was exhausted from running.

Not to mention that the person who had been following her finally caught up.

There was the sound of an old engine revving, and a pair of headlights clicked on further back in the alley.

"Hurry up." the one that held her muttered, beginning to drag her toward the van, "boss'll be annoyed if we don't hurry up and get her back to him."

It was then that she knew who these people were.

They were Izaya's kidnappers, the men he hired to help him with his sick work.

Now her tired escape efforts were doubled.

She was _not_ going back to Izaya!

But Namie was outnumbered, and the men tossed her into the back of the van, where a third thug caught her.

She thrashed against his grip, trying to cry out for help as one of them measured out some kind of chemical.

Just as he finished the measurement and prepared to drug her, there was a cry from one of the men who stood outside the van.

"I-i-i-i-it's h-h-here! The headless rider!"

The man holding her cursed, and the one with the chemicals looked like he wanted to run.

Taking this opportunity while the fools were distracted, Namie kicked the nearest thug between the legs as hard as she could.

He yelled in agony, crumpling to the floor of the van and spilling the chemical that he held.

One more kick from Namie knocked him out onto the sidewalk.

Wrenching her arms free of the other man's grasp, she tried to run, but the man caught a handful of her hair and dragged her back.

With one deft move, he slammed her head into the side of the van.

Namie's world spun around her, the cries of the kidnappers mixing with the pounding pain in her head until she almost couldn't tell the difference.

She could feel the man tying her wrists, and told her body to struggle, but it wouldn't listen.

She was dizzy, and could feel something warm drip from her temple where her head had connected with the metal framing.

Her vision was fading in and out of blackness as she tried to stay conscious, and she caught glimpses of the thugs scrambling around while the black-clad figure calmly took them out, one at a time.

The fourth kidnapper, who sat in the front seat, was trying to start the car, but in his panic had ended up stalling the vehicle.

He was the next one to be floored.

Namie's vision returned for a second, and she could see the thug that sat next to her looking around nervously, a knife in his hand.

Once again, her vision darkened, but not for as long as the last time, and she knew her head was slowly starting to clear.

As the man's face came back into view, she saw it twist into an expression of fear.

The headless rider showed up then, grabbing the man that held her, and threw him out of the van.

Namie's vision blacked out slightly once again, and she could only hear the man's cries.

When her sight faded back in, she found the headless rider leaning over her, holding out a cell phone that had 'are you alright' typed on the screen.

Namie nodded, wincing as her head throbbed from the movement.

The headless rider untied Namie's hands, and the scientist dragged herself to a sitting position.

"Thank you." she managed, and the rider nodded, offering a hand.

Head still spinning, Namie got to her feet, but promptly fell over.

The black-clad person was able to catch her, though, and helped her balance until her head cleared a bit.

It still hurt, but at least she had regained total consciousness.

The cell phone was once again held for her to read.

"I can take you home. Where do you live?"

Namie felt a hint of worry at this.

What should she answer?

She couldn't go back to Izaya's apartment.

As much as she would have enjoyed locking him out of his own home had he not been there, she suspected that he was directing this whole operation via his cell phone from the spinny-chair at his desk. She certainly couldn't go back to her old apartment, and she wasn't sure where her brother was currently staying.

She would have to make something up.

Just as she was about to give the address for a nearby hotel, though, the sound of a revving engine filled the small alleyway.

Namie looked up sharply as another van pulled into the narrow street.

She braced herself to run again, but the headless rider shook her head and typed 'it's okay, they're friends' into her phone.

The van pulled up, and two teens jumped from the back, looking around at the unconscious forms of the would-be kidnappers in disappointment.

"Aw, Celty-san..." the girl whined, "You didn't leave any for us..."

The headless woman shrugged apologetically.

"Who's she?" the blonde boy asked, nodding at Namie.

The headless rider shrugged again.

"Namie." she replied quietly, "Just Namie is fine."

The two looked at each other, then shrugged and smiled.

"Okay."

"Ne, ne, you're bleeding!" the girl cried in alarm a second later, rushing to Namie's side.

Gently brushing her fingers over her forehead, Namie winced and drew her hand back to find it covered with blood.

"Come with us, we'll get you fixed up." the girl smiled, taking the scientist's opposite wrist in her hand and leading her back to the van.

"Don't worry; we'll take care of her. Later, Celty-san!" the blonde boy called, waving back at the headless rider as he ran after Namie and the girl.

Celty waved, getting back onto her motorcycle and silently speeding away.

Namie let herself be led over to the van.

The door was open, and she could see that the inside was filled with what looked like stacks of books, rolled up posters, and...was that a life-sized cardboard cutout?

The blonde boy hopped in the van and started making room for a third person in the back seat.

"Let us get these out of the way, make some room for you..." the girl said, climbing in after him and hefting up a stack of books.

An Otaku magazine fell off the top, and Namie picked it up, glancing at the two characters portrayed on the front.

"FullMetal Alchemist?" Namie asked softly.

The two immediately perked.

"Heh? You know that series?"

Namie nodded dumbly.

When Seiji was younger, he had taken an interest in anime. She, of course, had immediately gone online and watched through as many random shows as she could find, memorizing their characters and plot lines, in order to join his anime discussions.

Unfortunately for her, his obsession lasted only for a month, until someone at school said that anime was lame, and he refused to watch it anymore. Leaving her with 3 season's worth of character info and plotline that she didn't know what to do with.

Until now, that was.

"So have you seen this one?" The dark-haired girl asked, holding up a DVD.

"Gundam SEED? Yes. They really messed up some stuff with Destiny, though..."

"Agreed!" chirped the girl's blonde companion, "How about Dragonauts?"

"Saw a few episodes. Too much fan service."

The dark-haired girl nodded, her eyes bright.

"Ne, Ne, Onee-san, you'll have to come over! They just released the tenth episode of FullMetal Alchemist, Brotherhood, and they're having a marathon on TV!"

Namie was about to decline, but hesitated.

This was a safe, protected home for the night. She would have somewhere to sleep without having to worry about Izaya finding her.

And _that_, she couldn't refuse.

"Um, sure. I'll come."

The two Otakus let out simultaneous squeaks of joy and high-fived, while the man in the front passenger seat just rolled his eyes.

* * *

Namie sat up, gently stretching her back.

Her entire body ached from falling asleep on the floor in front of the TV the previous night.

Turns out, that after the FullMetal Alchemist marathon, there was an Inyasha special, lasting all night, where they played every single episode, no commercials.

In fact, it was still running this morning.

The Otakus had planned to stay awake throughout the whole thing, and had definitely outlasted an exhausted Namie, but the filler had gotten them around episode 35 (which by then was playing at 5:30 in the morning) and they had both fallen asleep on the floor in front of the TV.

Smiling at the two, Namie shook her head.

They were almost like children. But that seemed to fit their personalities nicely.

Standing, she clicked off the TV, found her way to the kitchen, and began to prepare breakfast.

* * *

It was almost noon.

Erika stretched, arching her back and feeling her fingertips brush against Walker's side.

With a cat-like yawn, she scrambled to a sitting position before delivering a sharp poke to her friend's side.

"Wake up, we missed half the marathon."

The once groggy Walker was instantly awakened by these words and sat up sharply.

When they turned the TV back on, though, they just caught the last 30 seconds of the ending theme before the marathon ended.

"Awwwwww..." they whined in unison.

Erika grudgingly turned the TV off again, leaning back against the couch.

"Well, I suppose it was mostly filler, anyway..."

Walker nodded.

The two were silent for a moment.

"Hey, do you..." Walker paused to sniff, "Do you smell that?"

Erika inhaled deeply, and couldn't deny the inviting smell of a western-style breakfast.

"I wonder where it's coming from?" she asked softly.

Then they remembered the third member of their marathon party.

"Namie-Onee-San!"

Leaping to their feet, they ran to the kitchen.

* * *

"Yeah, we have an Otaku convention today." Walker informed Namie over their late breakfast.

"We're going to take it easy with the cosplay, though. Because last time we went as Umineko characters, and the fake blood was really hard to get off...so we're going as characters from Haruhi this time around. Simple school uniforms." Erika mewed, stuffing another piece of pancake in her mouth.

Walked nodded.

"We probably have some cosplay that'd fit you, if you wanted to hang out."

"No thanks," Namie grinned, "I have some stuff I need to take care of today. But I may tag along for a little while, just to see what it's like."

The two smiled at her, and Namie felt surprisingly happy.

But then again, it was hard not to feel that way when hanging around these two.

* * *

Izaya glanced around another corner, hoping to catch a glimpse of green clothing, or a lock of long black hair, but to no avail.

With a sigh, he kept walking.

He had been out searching for Namie since 2 in the morning, when it had started to rain.

The thought of her hiding from the rain somewhere outside in the cold and dark had made him feel quite guilty.

Not guilty enough to call off the bet and take her back with him, but guilty enough to go out and try to find her at that ungodly hour.

With another sigh, he turned, shoving his hands back into his pockets and yawned.

Where could she be hiding?

He'd searched the whole blasted town...

As he made his way to the main square, though, he was met by a giant crowd of costumed people. Blending into the edges, Izaya quickly took in the situation.

Some sort of Otaku-fest.

He was planning on avoiding the whole mess, and had just skirted the far edge, when he saw a flash of green out of the corner of his eye.

Turning sharply, Izaya was just in time to see the person he had been looking for walking out of the crowd.

"Namie!"

* * *

Namie had enjoyed her short time at the Otaku convention a lot more than she had expected.

Her knowledge of multiple series allowed her to have a conversation with everyone who talked to them. She had also almost been convinced to buy a Mokona plushie, but asked herself honestly what she would do with it, and reasoned that Izaya would only steal it from her if she were to buy it.

In the end, she left without the plushie, but had a handful of buttons with various characters on them clipped to the hem of her sweater.

Namie weaved her way out of the crowd, her attention focusing back on Izaya's little game.

Where to go now...

She looked up sharply as she heard someone call her name, and her eyes quickly picked the person out of the crowd.

"Izaya?" she yelped.

The information broker began to walk in her direction and Namie ran.

_How had he managed to find her already?_

She darted down the nearest street, taking the next corner that came into view.

If she didn't get him off her trail soon, his longer legs would allow him to catch up to her...

As Namie rounded the corner to the park, she saw two figures in the distance and a flicker of hope lighted in her chest.

"Seiji!"

* * *

Mika glanced up as someone called her Seiji's name.

Looking around, she tried to pinpoint where the sound had come from.

That voice had sounded familiar, somehow...

Then she realized who it was.

It was Seiji's sister, and she was running toward them.

Mika instinctively hid behind Seiji, but she couldn't help but feet that something about the scientist was...off...

As she got closer, Mika noticed that she looked desperate, and was breathing hard, as if she'd been running from something.

Namie stopped before them, trying to gasp out words between breaths.

"Help me!" she begged.

Mika looked up at her in surprise.

"Please, help me!" Namie repeated, glancing back over her shoulder nervously before turning her pleading eyes back toward the two.

Mika stared at her, wondering if she should help this woman.

The one who had changed her face so she could be with Seiji.

The one who wanted to kill her on a daily basis.

The one who had saved her life when Seiji had nearly killed her.

There was fear in those usually cold eyes, and Mika recognized it.

It was the same fear that she felt when she was being chased by the headless rider.

"Namie..." Seiji said quietly in surprise.

Izaya could now be seen behind her, in the distance, rounding the corner to the park at a run.

Making up her mind then, Mika grabbed Namie's wrist.

"Come on! Hurry!"

Surprise and gratitude flashed across the scientist's face, while Seiji's just showed surprise, as she dragged Namie away.

They could hear Izaya shouting what sounded like 'oh come on!' from somewhere behind them, but ignored him.

Mika had decided.

Namie had done more kind things for her than unkind, and she would repay her this once.

Besides...she didn't like Izaya very much.

As she rounded the corner of the nearest street, Mika realized just how tired Namie was, and knew that they couldn't outrun Izaya.

They would have to hide.

Fortunately, there was a very familiar store on the next street corner...

"Hello, you would like a coupon for the finest Russian Sushi?" Simon grinned at the trio.

"We need a place to hide." Mika said quickly, checking over her shoulder for signs of Izaya. So far nothing.

Simon watched them for a second.

"Follow me."

The three followed the tall, dark-skinned man into the store.

He lifted the counter, allowing them back behind the bar.

"You stay here. Keep heads low. I will preserve the peace."

Nodding, Mika glanced between Namie and Seiji.

The boy's eyes were fixed on her in curiosity, pondering her motive for helping his sister, while said sister was looking around nervously.

"Simon!" the shout came from Izaya, and Mika felt Namie cringe against her as the information broker's footsteps were heard inside the Russian Sushi Shop.

They waited nervously as Izaya asked Simon if he'd seen them, and the large black man shook his head no.

The information broker muttered a curse, running back out to the street, and Mika let out the breath she hadn't known she was holding.

Glancing up at Namie, their eyes met.

"Thank you." the woman said softly, pure gratitude in her gaze.

Mika nodded, standing.

"Well, while we're here, why don't we get lunch?" Seiji asked tentatively.

The two women glanced at one another, then nodded.

Breathing a quiet sigh of relief, Seiji went to order, still confused at to why his sister and girlfriend were getting along this well all of a sudden.

* * *

Shinra had been walking through the home goods department at the mall, when someone rather familiar darted around the corner at a run.

"M-miss Yagiri?" he asked in surprise.

The woman skidded to a stop, her appearance uncharacteristically frazzled, and looked him over in surprise.

"Shinra-San?"

"I can honestly say I never expected to run into you here..." he started politely, but trailed off as he realized that she wasn't really listening.

"Is something wrong?"

Her gaze focused on him again.

"What? No! Nothing is...I mean..."

A clatter and cursing came from one aisle over, and Namie looked back over her shoulder sharply. "Izaya!" she squeaked in fear, running past Shinra and hiding behind the curtains of one of the displays.

Sure enough, the information broker rounded the corner a second later, out of breath.

"Shinra!" he smiled, "Fancy seeing you here."

"Yeah, same." Shinra returned the smile.

"Hey, I'm looking for someone. She's a few inches shorter than me, and has long, dark hair. She was wearing a green sweater. Have you seen her?"

Shinra hesitated, trying not to grin.

So Namie Yagiri was running from Izaya Orihara?

"What have you done now, Izaya?" he asked jokingly.

The information broker shrugged, masking what little bit of embarrassment that showed on his face behind innocence.

"I haven't done anything. But I _do_ need to figure out where she is..."

"Well, I haven't seen her." Shinra lied, returning his gaze to the shelves, "Good luck finding her, though."

Izaya groaned.

Namie had managed to lose him again.

"Thanks anyway, Shinra. Tell Celty I said 'hi'."

And with that, and a final wave, Izaya headed deeper into the mall.

A few seconds after he was gone, Namie peeked out from behind the curtain in the display.

With a quick 'thanks' to Shinra, she was running in the opposite direction, and the doctor chuckled to himself.

"Wonder what those two are up to now..."

* * *

Izaya slammed his fist into his desk, letting out a frustrated groan.

He had just checked the chat server.

Everyone there had seen Namie, or at least a woman matching her description, at some point that day or the night before. But none of them knew where she was now.

In fact, one of them reported seeing her getting kidnapped last night, and that they'd stopped to help her.

"So that's how you escaped..." Izaya muttered. He knew that his hired thugs weren't very clever, but they were strong, and should have easily outnumbered Namie.

Unless, of course, she had gotten help, which was apparently what had happened.

Another blip drew his attention to the screen.

The new bubble that popped up read:

"EH? You mean Namie-Onee-Chan? She stayed over at our place last night for the FullMetal Alchemist Marathon on TV!"

Izaya slammed his palm against his forehead.

He had dragged himself out into the rain at 2 in the morning for nothing...Namie had been safe, sound asleep at the Otaku's place the previous night.

Another blip.

"This woman I saw today. She ordered sushi with friends. Izaya Orihara was after her for reason I am not sure."

Izaya's head hit the desk.

His town had turned against him...

Another blip.

"I saw the flea chasing that girl. Punched him halfway across town."

Shizuo.

Blip.

"Oh yeah! Them! We crossed paths at the store and I hid Namie-San from him!"

Izaya nearly fell out of his chair.

Was there anyone who _hadn't_ seen Namie and helped her hide from him?

"I feel almost betrayed..." he muttered, turning off the computer, "They _all_ lied to me when I asked if they'd seen her."

He shrugged, standing.

"I guess I underestimated all of them. Especially Namie-chan."

He got up, pacing the room.

What to do now?

It was nearly 10 - the deadline they had agreed on - and he didn't have the _faintest_ idea where she could be hiding...

Izaya's phone rang and he glanced at the caller I.D.

Well speak of the devil...

Snapping the phone open, he pressed it to his ear.

"Namie?"

"Hello, is this Izaya Orihara-San?" a male voice asked.

"Who-...?"

"I'm Officer Higumi. This was the only number and address that was listed under emergency contacts on this phone. I found a young lady lying in the park. Long, dark hair? I assume you know her. She seems to have fainted..."

"HEH?" Izaya yelped, "I-is she okay?"

"I'm bringing her back to your apartment now." the officer continued as if he hadn't spoken, "Is that alright with you?"

"Ah, yes. That's fine. I'll be waiting here. Is she okay?" Izaya repeated.

"She's fine. She just needs rest."

Izaya allowed a sigh of relief to escape his lips.

"Glad to hear. I'll be waiting for you."

Ending the call, Izaya let himself fall back into his chair.

Well, that ended his worry about her. She would get back safely, and, more importantly, the officer hadn't recognized her.

He stared thoughtfully off into the distance, letting his mind wander.

* * *

About 10 minutes later, the doorbell rang, and Izaya leaped to his feet.

"Coming!"

He flung the door wide to reveal the officer who had called him, the pretty young scientist cradled gently in the man's arms.

Izaya gratefully took Namie's limp form from the policeman.

"Thanks for taking care of her." he said softly, pulling the girl close and pressing his lips gently to the top of her head in relief.

As much as he hated to admit it, he had missed her. Having her back just somehow felt...right.

As the cop left, Izaya turned to glance at the clock.

10:01.

She'd made it.

Just barely, but she'd made it.

Izaya sighed.

Well, looks like he was now her personal slave for a week. Oh boy...

"But hey," he said to himself with a shrug as he carried the scientist up to her bedroom, "this might end up being fun, especially if Namie decides to get playful about it."

Comforting himself with that, Izaya lay Namie in her bed, then settled down beside her.

"Good night, Namie." he whispered.

* * *

"So what will it be, your Royalness?" Izaya asked, sweeping his arm back in a dramatic bow and grinning up at her.

Namie watched him in complete confusion through half-closed eyes.

"...are you already drunk at this time in the morning?" she muttered groggily.

Izaya chuckled to himself.

He had forgotten, Namie was unconscious when she had won the bet.

Sitting on the bed beside the half-asleep scientist, he patted her dark hair gently.

"No, I'm not drunk, Namie. But you look like _you_ could use some more sleep."

Moaning softly in agreement, she snuggled her face back into her pillow.

Izaya smiled to himself, thinking how cute she looked.

Suddenly, Namie gasped, sitting up.

"You! Wh-what am I doing here?" she cried, trying to back away from Izaya.

Laughing out loud, now, Izaya caught her wrists and dragged her back.

"Relax. You won the bet. By just barely a minute."

Namie's expression calmed almost instantly, but retained a hint of mistrust.

"You're being surprisingly truthful."

"I suppose I am. But you were right, that was a rather unfair thing for me to bargain. I might have felt bad pretending that you'd lost."

She snorted, not sure she believed him.

"So what will it be?" he grinned, again playing with her hair, "A manicure? A back massage? Ooh! Or maybe a nice warm bath, and I can wash your back for you?"

Namie stretched slowly, aware that Izaya's eyes were inadvertently fixated on her body.

"No, nothing like that. The bathroom floor needs to be washed, though. Oh, and I'm starved. How about some breakfast?"

Izaya deflated almost instantly.

This wasn't the kind of slave work he was expecting...

* * *

"Namie, I'm dying!" Izaya begged, crawling onto the empty seat of the couch next to her, "I can't do any more chores! I can't stand it!"

"Oh, poor Izaya." Namie said, a hint of fake pity in her voice, "Are you having trouble keeping up with my daily chores?"

"No, it's just that...wait, _your_ chores?"

Namie nodded, turning to him.

"Believe it or not, Izaya, I'm only assigning you the work that I would be doing. Nothing out of the ordinary. Think of it as a consolation for not winning."

"Geez...how do you manage...?" he muttered, slumping back into the soft cushions.

"It's tough." Namie said, leaning back beside him, "and in my opinion, you don't pay me enough to take care of it."

He nodded.

"Remind me to give you a bonus."

Namie was quiet for a second, but turned back to Izaya.

"Have you at least finished what I assigned?"

The information broker moaned, draping an arm across his face melodramatically.

"I'm not gonna live the week...but yes, I've finished everything."

"Good." she nodded, "You know, I think I'm going to let you out of part of the deal, Izaya, and only make you my slave for today, instead of the whole week."

He looked up sharply.

"Really?"

"Sure." she grinned, "Now I don't know about you, but I wouldn't mind a back massage."

Izaya perked up immediately, his smile back.

"That, I _can_ do!"

* * *

So, this chapter draws to a close. (All the readers scream 'finally'.)

I know that was a pretty big chunk to put up at once, but like I said at the beginning, (for those who read it) I probably won't get a chance to post for a while.

In the mean time, why don't you review this story? Or check out some of my other fanfictions? ('The Rat Next Door' and 'Fanfiction Massacre' need some love...)

Or, if you're sick of reading my stuff, why not check out some of the stories from TohrutheGreat, ReInnovator, Rairyu, and Josephus of the Furlings (though I think he changed his username to Josephus Prime...). ^^

It's 3 freaking AM and I'm updating...I must have something wrong with me...

Well, untill next time, goodbye, and good night. ^.^v


	7. Short Chapter is Short

Yes, contrary to popular belief, I'm Still Alive. (Any of you make Portal refrences, you're dead. I do NOT need that song stuck in my head again...)And I know I promised one of my readers a jealous Izaya, but I didn't have that oneshot finished yet. I have part of it written, though! And I'll try my hardest to get it in the next group that goes up! *begging forgiveness*

Only 2 this time around, cause I've been typing between math problems and other homework.  
School. Bleh.

Well, the usual disclaimers, and here's the fic:

* * *

A Surprise Visit

* * *

Izaya took his cell phone out of his pocket as he heard it ring. Checking the number, he held it up to his ear with a smile.

"What is it this time, Namie?"

"Hehehehehe! He thinks that I'm _you,_ Namie-san!"

Izaya blanched as he recognized the voice.

"Good bye, Mairu."

"Hey, wait a second Nee-san-!"

Izaya disconnected the call.

The younger Orihara sisters had found his apartment.

His phone rang again a minute later, from the same number, and he disconnected the call.

Cringing, Izaya tried to think up a plan on how to get rid of them as he began heading home.

The phone rang a third time, and Izaya picked it up long enough to say 'stop calling' then disconnected it before his sister could finish her speech.

The phone rang a fourth time, and he answered, but before he could threaten his younger sister, she interjected quickly.

"We have your girlfriend."

Izaya froze.

"What?"

"We have your girlfriend." his sister repeated, and he could hear the grin in her voice.

"I'm NOT his girlfriend!" a voice protested in the background.

Could that be...Namie...?

"Can I speak to her?" he asked carefully. Who knew what the Orihara twins were doing to his secretary...

"Oh, I guess it's okay. Just for a second, though."

A rather insane laugh from his sister as the phone was handed to Namie.

"Izaya! Izaya, what the hell is going on? Who are these two?" Namie's voice took over the phone a second later.

Rubbing his temples with his fingertips, he groaned softly.

"The two little rats are my younger sisters. Twins. Mairu and Kururi."

"Well what the hell are they doing here? You never told me they were coming! In fact, you didn't even tell me you had _sisters_!"

"Yes, Namie, I know, I'm sorry. I had no idea they were going to show up on my doorstep this morning..."

"Well it would have been nice of you to let me know ahead of-HEY! Give that back!"

"Namie?" he asked.

There was nothing but noise for a second, then Mairu's voice took back over.

"If you want her back, you're going to have to come here and face us." She taunted, hanging up the phone before Izaya could reply.

Snarling a few curses, Izaya stuffed his cell phone back in his pocket and began running back toward his apartment.

Those two were _so_ dead when he got his hands on them...!

* * *

Namie returned the blank stares that the two girls were giving her.

So _these_ were Izaya's sisters?

She had expected something a bit...well...scarier.

These two were almost cute.

One of them glanced around the apartment, her attention unable to rest on her 'prisoner' for more than a few minutes.

The other one continued to stare at her. That was, until the girl's stomach growled.

Both twins turned to look at the stomach of the girl in the gym suit in surprise.

Namie couldn't suppress a smile.

"Are you two hungry?"

They looked up at her, their gaze reminding her of two stray kittens.

"I'm pretty sure that I bough a roll of instant cookie dough..."

Their eyes lit up, at this, and Namie could no longer hide her smile.

She stood, leading the two girls toward the kitchen.

"Let's go make them now."

This might be fun.

Besides, she had always wanted sisters.

* * *

Izaya dodged from one bush to another, keeping out of view of the windows in his apartment.

Upon nearing the building, he slipped inside, making his way cautiously through the halls to his door. Pressing his ear to the wood, he heard someone walking around, but they were upstairs.

Taking out his pocket knife, just in case, Izaya quickly opened the door and slipped inside, hiding in the coat closet as he tried to locate the twins.

The main room was deserted, though.

Edging out of the closet, the information broker sneaked over to one of his bookshelves and pressed himself into the corner, between the shelf and the space that he kept covered by a dust-shielding curtain.

The material was worn in one patch, and hiding behind it, Izaya could vaguely see what was going on in the living room.

Now where were those little monsters...?

Faint voices from upstairs caught his attention, and he tensed as he picked out the words 'hiding downstairs'. This was promptly followed by two sets of footsteps descending to the first floor.

How were they already onto him so quickly? Had they set up surveillance cameras? He hadn't seen any on the way in...and he hadn't make enough noise for a listening-in device...

Maybe they'd rigged the door, and could tell when it opened or closed, or maybe they'd bribed someone to hide outside and watch for him to let them know...

His thoughts were cut short, though, as the two reached the bottom of the stairs and began to approach his location.

Izaya held his breath as the two searched the living room.

They continued for another minute, almost finding him, but then they walked to the center of the room together.

"Alright, come out." Mairu called.

He allowed himself a smirk. Did they really think they would get him so easily?

But it was the next sentence that confused Izaya.

"We give up."

Izaya blinked for a second.

They give up?

To his surprise, though, Namie emerged from the other room, dusting off her skirt.

"Namie-san!" the twins cried, both running over to the scientist.

"Where were you hiding? We couldn't find you!"

Namie smiled at the two, and Izaya felt a twinge of jealousy. She never looked that happy when she was talking to _him_...

"Yeah, but if I tell you where I hid, I won't be able to hide there anymore, will I?"

The twins' eyes widened a bit, then they grinned.

"Namie-san is so smart!"

"Alright, my turn to count this time. Go hide!" Namie grinned.

As the scientist turned to face the wall, covering her eyes with her hands and beginning to count, and the twins scampered off to hide, Izaya felt the strong urge to slam his palm into his forehead.

Namie was playing hide-and-seek with them.

As soon as the dreaded younger Orihara children were out of the room, Izaya crept from his hiding place, sneaking up behind Namie.

"Thirty-eight, thirty-nine, forty! Ready or not, here I co-"

Izaya clapped a hand over Namie's mouth to stop her from crying out in surprise as she turned to find him standing behind her.

"Izaya!" she snapped, shoving his hand away, "Don't scare me like that! And it's about time you got back here! Your sisters have been waiting for you! Hey, girls-"

Izaya again covered her mouth.

"_Don't_ call them in here!" he hissed, but it was too late, and a second later the aforementioned girls flounced into the room.

"Did you call us Namie-san?" Kururi asked.

Then they saw him.

"IZAYA!"

Before he could even run, they had tackled him to the ground.

He could hear Namie's laughter as he tried to shove them off.

"Why don't I give you two some time alone with your brother?" she smiled, turning to leave the room, "I'll be back with groceries for dinner in a couple hours."

"No! Namie! Wait! Come back! Don't leave me alone with them! Are you listening to me? Namie! I'll dock your pay...!" Izaya yelled after her.

The rest of his rant was lost as Namie closed the door behind her and his two sisters dragged him across the room.

* * *

Namie returned a few hours later to check on the Orihara siblings, only to find Izaya bound, gagged, and tied to a chair, with one of his sisters painting his toenails and the other applying makeup to his face.

"Hello, Namie-san!" the girls chorused.

Trying to hide her grin, Namie approached.

Izaya's eyes locked onto hers with an expression that seemed to say 'you left me with these two, I'm going to make you pay when I get free'.

Slowly picking up a hair ribbon from the table, she turned back to Izaya.

The information broker's eyes widened sharply, the expression in them now switching to 'you wouldn't dare'.

Smiling, she began gathering Izaya's dark, floppy hair into a ponytail, tying the ribbon around it.

"So, girls, how has your day been?" she asked, ignoring the muffled protests coming from Izaya and reaching for a second ribbon.

"We've had lots of fun playing with Izaya-nee." Kururi mewed, dusting more blush onto the information-broker's cheeks.

"Glad to hear that. You make a very good doll, Izaya. You know that?" she asked the information broker, not expecting a response, as she tied a second ponytail in his hair.

"So where are you girls staying?"

Mairu looked up from her pink nail polish.

"We found a nice alleyway nearby, and there are lots of cardboard boxes there to hide from the rain in..."

Namie couldn't hide her surprise.

"You're staying in an alley?"

"Well, we couldn't find Izaya-nee's apartment...he'd changed the location again..."

Shaking her head in annoyance at Izaya, she stood.

"Well, you two can stay here tonight."

Izaya's muffled cry of horror could be heard through the duct tape, but Namie ignored it.

"I'll go make up a bed for the two of you, then I'll start dinner. Okay?"

"Thank you, Namie-Onee-Chan!" the girls chorused with big smiles.

Izaya rolled his eyes.

* * *

"Good night." Namie called softly, closing over the door.

Two soft voices chimed 'good night' back.

Clicking the door shut, she walked down the hall to Izaya's room- the less presentable of the two.

"Are the two little rats asleep?" Izaya asked from the bathroom, trying to wash the makeup off his face.

"Yes." Namie smiled. "They're so sweet."

"They're not sweet, they're _psychopathic_." Izaya spat, drying his face off and sitting down hard on the bed next to Namie before trying to fish one of the pink ribbons from his hair.

After struggling for a few seconds, he leaned over to Namie, pointing at his head in disgust.

"Get it out."

Namie allowed Izaya to rest his head in her lap as she untangled all the bows she'd put in his hair. "Remind me again _why_ they had to stay here?"

"They're your sisters, Izaya. Besides, they have no where else to go."

"That's no excuse." he snapped.

There was a slight pause.

"It didn't stop you from letting me stay..." Namie said softly.

Izaya turned his head, looking up at her.

"But you're different."

"Not really." she said quietly, getting to her feet as Izaya sat up.

The information broker watched her quietly for a minute, then stood as well.

Namie looked up in surprise as Izaya wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Yes really, there is a _big_ difference. You _usually_ listen to what I tell you, you only try to kill me every _other_ day, and you at least helped take _off_ half of this wretched stuff that you dressed me up in."

She let him hold her for another second or two, then slipped from his arms, walking over to the closet and digging out a spare quilt.

"Namie? What are you doing?"

"You can sleep on the couch." she said, walking out into the hall and setting the folded blanket at the top of the stairs for him.

"Oh, no! Don't you _even_ think that after all you put me through today that you're making me sleep on the couch!"

"Well, _I'm _not sleeping on the couch..."

"Then share a bed with me. I don't care. But you aren't depriving me of any comfort after allowing those two little demons into my house..."

With a long-suffering sigh, Namie followed Izaya back to his bedroom.

"You are _such_ a child..."

* * *

Flashback (That's Backflash for you, Tohru...)

* * *

_15-year-old Namie made her way quietly through the halls of the high school._

_One of the upperclassmen bumped into her on their way by, but she didn't react._

_After spending most of her life at home with no one for company but Seiji, she had become quite introverted, and preferred not to draw attention to herself._

_Nameless faces passed, none of them mattering enough to her to draw any attention._

_With a sigh, she stepped through the door to the outside, glancing up at the sky as her classmates chatted noisily around her._

_School was finally out, and she could finally return to her quiet home to be with her precious brother, Seiji._

_But as she rounded the corner of the building, something, or rather, someone, slammed into her._

_Namie was knocked over, the notebooks she held scattered across the grass._

_"Aah! Sorry!" a young man's voice said quickly._

_Rubbing her forehead and wincing in pain, Namie glanced up into the red-brown eyes of the upperclassman who had spoken._

_He was looking down at her with a mix of concern and amusement._

_"You okay?"_

_Namie nodded, gathering her spirals and trying not to look at him._

_Now she would be late getting home..._

_Her eyes widened sharply in surprise as the boy who had run into her handed her one of the notebooks. "Here you go."_

_She hesitated for a second, then took the journal from him._

_"You're pretty shy, huh?" the boy chuckled._

_Namie tried to ignore him._

_"So what's your name?"_

_She pretended that she didn't hear him, but he leaned so that she was pinned between the wall and his body._

_Seeing as he wasn't going to leave till he got an answer, Namie decided to reply._

_"N-Namie Yagiri..."she managed quietly._

_The boy smiled warmly, offering a hand._

_"I'll remember that. My name's-"_

_There was a sudden, loud crash, and they both looked up sharply to see a trash can slam into the brick wall a few feet away._

_"And that's my cue to scram. Sorry, cutie. Gotta run." the dark-haired boy grinned, pulling her to her feet and giving her cheek a quick peck before disappearing around the corner._

_Namie could only stare in shock, leaning back against the wall for support._

_Who the hell was that?_

_A blonde man rounded the corner a second later, only just barely able to keep from running into her as well._

_"Where'd that flea go? Did you see?" he demanded._

_Eyes wide with shock at the sudden attention she seemed to be receiving from everyone, she simply pointed after the dark-haired man._

_Nodding his thanks, the blonde man ran off._

_Clutching her books tightly against her chest, Namie fled the school grounds before anyone else could find her._

"Woah, careful there!" Izaya said, grabbing Namie before she fell as the two rounded a corner and ran into each other.

The papers she held were scattered across the ground, and Namie dropped to her knees, trying to pick them all up.

Getting a serious case of Deja Vu, though not quite sure _why_, she looked up into a pair of red-brown eyes that watched her with concern and a mild amusement.

She ignored the information broker as best she could, trying to gather her papers back together.

"Hey, don't get mad, it was an accident, Namie. I didn't see you standing there..."

Continuing to pretend that she couldn't hear him, Namie looked around for the remainder of her papers, and was surprised to find Izaya holding them out to her.

"Here's the rest."

She took them hesitantly and began to get to her feet, but Izaya leaned close, pinning her back against the wall.

"Na~_mie_, you're ignoring me again..."

She was about to deliver a sharp reply, but was interrupted by a vending machine flying past.

CRASH!

"Drat! Shizzy-chan found me." Izaya muttered with a grin, pulling Namie to her feet, "I'll see you tonight, Namie."

The information broker planted a firm kiss on her lips before darting off.

The scientist leaned back against the wall, glaring after him and mentally debating if putting dish detergent in his food would be a fitting punishment.

"Hey!"

She looked up sharply as Shizuo stalked over, a street sign in his hand, and suddenly knew _exactly_ how she would get even.

"Have you seen-"

"He went that way. Probably hiding behind the dumpster outside of the apartment complex, but if not, check the park down the street." she replied, not even waiting for him to ask.

The blonde man seemed a bit surprised, but then grinned at her.

"Thanks."

Namie watched him run down the street after Izaya, smirking to herself, before heading back to their apartment, deep in thought.

She still couldn't figure out why this whole situation seemed so _familiar_...

* * *

He-he-he! I'm so evil! ^^  
Admittedly, I haven't read much of the novels, so I don't entirely know what Izaya's sisters are like, but I made my best guess! So please forgive me if they are totally out of character!

Well, as promised, I got the chapter up by the end of the month. (Cutting it a bit close, but whatever.)  
I probably won't get time to update regularly till winter break, so look for next post around late September/early October.

Until then, I bid you good night.  
ZZZZZZzzzzzzzz...


	8. School hasn't killed me yet!

As promised...  
Some more abstract entries, thanks to celebrating a 4-day weekend by procrastinating on homework. ^^ Oh, and BTW, if any of you who read this fanfic get good ideas from the oneshots, feel free to take it and run with it. This site needs more Izaya/Namie! Just give a little side note like "Inspired by 'A Shared Apartment' by Kage-Tora No Tsume, the best author in the world, who is the most amazing and talented person ever and deserves lots and lots of really nice reviews so why don't you go check out all her amazing stories and boost her popularity..."

You get the idea. (Just kidding about the whole long list of titles, by the way...Simply 'her majesty' would be fine,,,*is smacked by Rairyu for taking titles she doesn't deserve*) And here is the Jealous Izaya, as I promised! (third entry) And I'll apologize now because my jealous Izaya fails, but I tried! I really did!

So, the usual disclaimers (how they mock my lack of series-ownership) and off you go! Into the wild blue yonder... (I need to get more sleep...)

* * *

The Enemy of my Enemy

(Okay, my apologies on this one, if Namie went a bit OOC in her freaking metal-gear-solid mode, or if Vorona is OOC as well, because it was late when I thought this up, and I just couldn't resist a fight scene)

* * *

Namie didn't like her.

She wasn't quite sure why, but Namie was definitely sure that she did not like this blonde Russian woman AT ALL.

Maybe it was the way she strutted down the street so confidently, or how her eyes seemed to dismiss Namie instantly, like she wasn't a threat.

She could feel herself fingering the handle of the scalpel in her pocket, and vaguely wondered if Izaya was rubbing off on her.

She was always a relatively calm person, though, and resisted taking her scalpel out quite yet.

The blonde had seen her now, and as her eyes met Namie's glare, her own gaze darkened.

The scientist glared a challenge. The Russian woman returned the look.

The two women continued to approach each other on the street, both acting as if they were about to merely pass by, but their eyes daring each other to a fight.

The Russian made the first move, leaning into her step so that her shoulder hit Namie as the two walked past each other.

Namie's reaction was instant.

Before a second had even passed, she pulled the scalpel out of her coat pocket and whirled around, leaving a thin slash across the Russian girl's shoulders.

The blonde whipped around as Namie took a pace back and braced herself, blade held lengthwise in front of her.

"You want a fight? You've got one." Namie snarled.

The Russian's glare became deadly, and she pulled out what liked like a...a piano string?

Namie didn't have time to wonder as the Russian lunged forward, string held in a loop.

It was then that Namie realized its purpose.

Decapitation.

Moving sharply, she ducked to the side, catching the loop on the blade of her scalpel and snapping it.

The blonde looked surprised, but only for a second.

Recovering quickly, she threw a punch at Namie, which the scientist just barely dodged.

Namie consciously noted that the Russian's punch had cracked the cement wall behind her, and shifted so that she stood at the very edge of the girl's range.

It was another standoff now, each waiting for the other to move.

Namie decided to start this time, rushing in and slashing her scalpel at the blonde's neck.

The woman dodged, and Namie turned her lunge into a spin, just avoiding both falling on her face and another of the Russian's punches.

Another sharp move, and she traced a small cut on the woman's retreating fist.

After the second little burst of fighting, the two backed off a few paces, sizing each other up.

The blonde's icy eyes locked with her own cold gaze.

"Who...hell...you?" she managed in broken Japanese, struggling for the right words.

"Namie Yagiri." She snarled back, brandishing her scalpel like she would a knife, "Who the hell are _you_?"

"Vorona." the Russian replied, shifting her weight to prepare for Namie's attack.

"Sayonara, Yagiri-san." she said darkly.

"Yes, it's too bad that you couldn't stay longer." Namie practically purred, sharply closing the distance between them and striking.

* * *

"IIIIIZAAAAAAAYAAAAA-!"

The dark-haired information broker rounded the corner at a jog, closely followed by a flying trashcan and a very angry blonde man with a street sign.

Both of them stopped dead when they rounded the corner, though.

"N-Namie-chan?"

"H-hey! Vorona-chan!"

The two stared in shock at the dueling women for a moment, before glancing at each other.

"Intervene?" Izaya asked at length, hesitant to get between two girls in a cat fight.

Shizuo shrugged, also unsure of quite how to go about this.

"Guess this is a five-minute truce for us."

The two men glanced at each other, hesitating only another second before cautiously approaching the two.

* * *

Namie was so wrapped up in her fight that she was completely taken by surprise when someone grabbed her wrists from behind.

Vorona leaped at her while she was helpless.

Namie tried to pull free sharply, but the person was stronger and refused to let go.

She heard a surprised yelp from Vorona, though, and looked up in time to see Shizuo toss the girl over his shoulder.

She began cursing fluently in Russian, trying to squirm free as Namie guessed who her captor was and sharply elbowed Izaya in the stomach.

The information broker grunted, doubling over, and Namie broke free.

With a final cry, she charged at Vorona.

This ended NOW.

"OI! Shizzy-chan!" Izaya called sharply, and the debt collector turned in time to step away from Namie's swing.

Izaya took over then, blocking Namie's scalpel with his own blade, as Shizuo struggled to keep Vorona from escaping.

A few seconds later Namie found herself pinned up against a brick wall, her scalpel confiscated, and Izaya leaning his entire body against hers to make sure she didn't move, as Shizuo carried Vorona away.

"Oi, Izaya!" the blonde man called back over his shoulder, "I have a feeling that we should keep our women away from each other. They seem to share our natural hate."

"No kidding." Izaya called back, rubbing traces of blood from his chin.

As Shizuo disappeared around a corner, Namie felt her muscles finally relax, and she fell against Izaya, trembling slightly.

"Geez, you two are as bad as me and Shizzy-chan..." Izaya was muttering, gently stroking her hair.

Namie let her eyes close over.

Completely exhausted, she felt the information broker scoop her into his arms and she nuzzled her face into his jacket.

A few minutes later, she was sound asleep.

* * *

A Few Random Poemy-inner-thought-like-things

* * *

She entranced him.

Her calm, confident manner, no matter what stupidity he dished out.

That pretty smile that she showed every now and then, despite it being for her brother.

Izaya hated that kid.

She was the one thing he couldn't have, but he wanted her so badly that it hurt.

Always so close, and yet so distant...tempting him.

She exasperated him.

The way she so easily brushed off his affection.

He was used to love-sick teenage girls who swooned over him and would die if he told them to.

Namie wouldn't give him the time of day.

It hurt him a bit, to see his efforts wasted, but that only made him try harder.

She would be his, no matter the reason.

He confused her.

He was playful and idiotic one moment, scheming and devilish the next, and the transition between the two could be caused by anything.

His dark, calculating side scared her. She would never admit it, though.

She was pretty sure he could see right through to her heart, and could barely suppress a shudder when those crimson eyes traced over her body.

He captivated her.

She was obsessed.

This was the first time she had fallen for someone besides Seiji, and the fact that Izaya was practically encouraging her didn't help matters any.

She desperately clung onto her love for Seiji, even though she knew that it was fading fast.

She had made herself a promise when she started this job to hate Izaya.

She wasn't going to break that promise easily.

But he was tempting...always tempting...

* * *

Dancing Queen (Sorry for cheezy title)

(I also don't own Howl's Moving Castle [novel] which I stole some of the last lines from)

* * *

_"Hey Izaya! Guess what? I got 2 sets of tickets to that hot new night club, and I was wondering if you and Miss Yagiri wanted to come?"_

Izaya glanced over the text for another second before replying.

_"Why us, specifically?"_

A minute later, he had an answer:

_"Cause Shizuo doesn't have a girlfriend."_

Izaya contemplated this for a second. With a shrug, he replied 'sure'.

* * *

Namie knew something was wrong from the second he had come skipping into the apartment and called her name in a sing-song voice.

She knew she wouldn't like what he was about to tell her as he paused in front of her desk, giving her a sweet, mischievous smile.

"Hey, Namie, I said guess what? You're not guessing..."

"And I'm not going to, so you'd better just tell me."

"You're no fun." he pouted.

She didn't reply, continuing her task, until Izaya gave up on making her guess.

"I just got a text from Shinra. He says that he's got two extra pairs of tickets to the new night club, and we're invited to go with him and Celty tonight!"

Namie winced.

She _knew_ she wasn't going to like it...

"I hate clubs." she muttered.

"Well I'm not going alone, so you have no choice."

"Do I ever?" she muttered under her breath.

Ignoring what she'd just said, Izaya grabbed her arm and dragged her to her feet.

"Come on! Let's pick something for you to wear! If you want to come along with me, you're going to at least dress fashionably..."

Trying to ignore the fact that he had just turned the argument so that she was the desperate woman making the popular guy bring her to a club with him, she allowed the information broker to drag her to her room.

Izaya flung open the closet.

"Wow! You have a lot of clothes in here! How come you never wear anything like this when I'm around, hm?"

Namie's face turned bright red as he took out the skimpiest black dress that she owned.

The information broker laughed, walking over and holding the dress up to her.

"Don't even think about it!" Namie snapped, snatching the outfit from him, "I'm not wearing anything like that!"

"I get final say." Izaya grinned back, laughing at the face Namie made.

"Not unless you want to go alone."

"Fine, fine...killjoy..."

* * *

"Izaya! Izaya, over here!"

He caught sight of the doctor a second later, dressed in a pair of jeans with a white shirt and black sleeveless jacket with silver studs. Celty, who stood next to him, wore a pale grey sweatshirt with the hood up, to cover her non-existent head, and stylish cuts running down the sleeves. The front was half-way zipped, revealing a lace-top shirt, and had gold gems set in patterns across it. She wore a denim mini skirt, with seductive thigh-high lace leggings underneath it.

Izaya glanced over at his own date.

Namie was fidgeting nervously, one hand clasping the opposite shoulder so that her arm conveniently blocked the low-cut neckline of her laced-front black dress, while her other hand was at her side, clasping the material of the dress closed at the almost waist-high slit.

He smirked, knowing that if it were her brother she was going with, she would have worn something even more revealing than that, and not thought twice about it.

With a light sigh, he grabbed her wrist and began to drag her after Shinra, as the doctor walked toward the door of the club.

* * *

Namie looked around, feeling every fiber of her body pulsing with the beat of the loud music.

Lights were flashing sporadically in the hazy darkness, and she could see the dark shapes of almost a hundred people writhing out on the dance floor.

Casting a glance out of the corner of her eye, she saw Celty clinging to Shinra's arm, and was somewhat relieved to see that the other girl seemed as nervous as her.

They found a table to leave their jackets at, then Shinra dragged Celty off to dance, and Namie was left sitting at the table with Izaya, her hands clenched together in her lap as she looked around the club.

Neither one spoke for a while, Izaya preferring to observe the people around them and Namie wishing that she were somewhere else, but at last the information broker ended the silence.

"So, Namie-Chan..." he drawled, propping his elbow on the table and resting his cheek in his palm, "You ever been to a club before?"

She shook her head, still looking around nervously.

A short laugh from Izaya.

"You aren't much fun. I'm going to go find a more interesting human to talk with."

He stood and left, Namie glaring at his back.

"Fine. I didn't want to have to sit and look at your face for the next three hours anyway."

With a small sigh, she continued to look around absently.

"Excuse me, miss?"

She looked up at the man who had spoken, slight color coming to her cheeks as her eyes took in his perfect body.

"I was wondering if you wanted to dance." he said, offering a hand.

With a shy smile, Namie let her palm rest against his.

"Sure."

* * *

Izaya looked around as he walked back to the table, disappointed at how shallow some of the people here were. Namie might have been a killjoy, but she was certainly more interesting than the peppy teenagers who had taken over the club.

When he got back to the table though, she was no where to be seen.

It was then that he saw her out on the dance floor.

* * *

Namie smiled at the man as they danced, finally starting to find some appeal in the club.

She was having fun.

That was, untill a certain dark-haired red-eyed information broker showed up.

Izaya sharply stepped between Namie and the man, placing his hands on her shoulders and leading her away.

"H-hey! Izaya, what are you doing?" she asked, glancing back at him.

"I don't like that guy." Izaya replied with a pout and a glare over his shoulder.

"He was just being friendly!" she protested, trying to free herself of his grip.

"TOO friendly, if you ask me..."

Namie stopped.

"Izaya Orihara, are you _jealous_?" she scoffed.

"No! I just don't like people who are overly friendly to those acquaintances of mine who are in possession of my personal information."

Namie raised an eyebrow, trying to untangle his sentence.

"So you think he was trying to get me to give him inside information on you?"

Izaya nodded, taking her arm and leading her back to their table.

"And I don't trust you not to give it to him."

She scoffed at this, but allowed him to lead her back to where Celty and Shinra sat.

Shinra was smirking, and she assumed that Celty probably would be exhibiting the same expression if she had a head.

All four of them sat at the table, chatting amongst themselves for a while, but Namie was getting bored with it, Izaya could tell.

Another song started up, and she stood.

"Well, Mr. Paranoid, I'm going to enjoy myself, even if you aren't."

Izaya watched her walk out to the dance floor and tried not to growl as a rather good-looking young man offered her his hand.

A chuckle from behind him took his attention away from the dance floor, though.

Izaya shot a glare at the person who'd dare to laugh.

"What's so funny, Shinra?"

"Oh, nothing. It's just that you seem so overprotective of that girl..." another chuckle.

"Overprotective?" he scoffed, "With her knowing as much about my personal life as she does, can you really blame me?"

Before Shinra could reply, Celty shoved her cell phone at Izaya.

'Why don't you ask her to dance? That way she can still have fun, and you don't have to worry about her telling anyone anything.'

* * *

Namie looked up in surprise as a hand landed on her shoulder.

Izaya stood behind her, an unreadable expression on his face.

"Dance?" he asked quietly, and Namie nodded in surprise.

He was asking her...?

She didn't get to answer, because the next song started, and Izaya took her hands in his, drawing her out to the floor.

(Note - I'm listening to 'Love Like Woe' as I write this, for those who like music while they read)

They stood for a moment, staring at one another, then Izaya flashed her half a smile, which she returned almost shyly.

Then, they started.

She would give him this much - he was a great dancer.

As the lights of the club flashed gold and blue in time to the song, she felt herself getting lost in the music as Izaya guided her through the steps.

Glancing up, their eyes met for a second, and she couldn't seem to find the usual sadistic glint that they had in them. Instead, he was studying her expression intently, almost curiously.

Feeling a blush coming to her cheeks, Namie glanced around again.

So many people...each in their own little realities, not minding what anyone else was doing.

Zoning out a bit, she let her mind wander.

What if Izaya wasn't trying to keep her from talking to people for the reason he said?

What if there was another reason?

Namie shook her head slightly.

Get rid of those silly thoughts. Izaya loves all humans equally (except for his sisters and Shizuo, who he hated). She was nothing special to him, and probably never would be.

That was when she noticed that he hadn't taken his eyes off of her once.

* * *

Izaya felt himself getting annoyed.

He thought he saw Namie glancing at some of the other guys as they danced, and Izaya had already planned each of their deaths.

She glanced up at him, and he saw her cheeks color slightly under his gaze.

Namie turned her head to the side, watching the other couples again.

Finally unable to just do nothing, he leaned in sharply, catching her face with a hand and pressing his lips to hers.

She squeaked quietly in surprise, unsure how to react for a second, but slowly wove her arms around his neck and kissed him back.

Smiling, Izaya hugged her close, not breaking their kiss for another few seconds as he continued to dance.

_Mine. Only mine._ He thought,_ No one else can have you, not even your brother._

Maybe it was the fact that he might have had competition that made Izaya so clingy, but he didn't want to let her go. Right now, just for this moment, she was only his.

And Namie certainly didn't look like she minded.

The woman's cheeks were covered in a dusting of red, and a smile was playing across her lips.

Izaya grinned back.

He leaned in close, running a hand through her hair.

"Izaya..." she said softly.

He leaned a little bit closer, not taking his eyes from hers.

Maybe it was the music, which had become softer, that made him act like this. Maybe it was because it was so late, and he was subconsciously tired. Maybe it was because of the shot of Cognac he had a little while ago. Or maybe there wasn't a reason at all, maybe he was just having a good time with one of the people who mattered most in his life.

With these thoughts running through his head, he gave up on dancing entirely, holding her close.

* * *

Back at the table, Shinra and Celty were watching the two with amusement.

'I told you this would be a good idea.' Celty flashed her cell phone at Shinra. 'And maybe if these two troublemakers are busy with each other, they'll leave the rest of the city alone.'

"Yeah. That, or they'll have kids and we'll have to deal with more than the two of them with combined forces."

'I'm trying to be positive here, Shinra...'

He laughed, taking her hands in his.

"I know, Celty. Hey, you wanna dance?"

* * *

"And then I..." Shinra cut off mid-sentence, his gaze turning to the door of the club.

"Shinra, what is it?" Izaya asked, half-standing to get a better view.

There was a crowd gathering there, and from what he could see, they were looking at something, or rather, some_one_, outside.

"Looks like they've brought in the night patroll." Shinra mused.

Izaya caught a glimpse of uniform through the window.

"Yeah, those are definitely cops." he nodded, returning to his seat.

"Cops?" Namie yelped softly.

"Yeah, they're coming in for an inspection, to check for drugs and stuff."

Namie glanced around, as if she expected one of them to show up behind her.

Celty also seemed on edge, and Izaya couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

The front door opened a minute or so later, and two uniformed men came inside.

Typing something quickly into her phone, Celty held it up for them to see.

'I've got to go do something. I'll be back in a few minutes.'

"I'll come too." Namie offered, and the information broker noticed something flash between them.

Celty nodded, Namie stood, and the two vanished into the crowd.

"Huh. Should have known." Shinra said quietly, reaching for his drink, "Celty's been afraid of the cops ever since she got chased across town."

Izaya chuckled.

"That also explains why Namie's so eager to get out of here. She hates cops. She's wanted for something. I can't recall exactly."

Taking his own glass and downing the contents, Izaya turned to Shinra.

"Well, seeing as out lady friends won't be back for a while, who's up for a little drinking contest?" he grinned.

Shinra returned his smile.

"You're on!"

* * *

Namie leaned back against the side of the building, taking in the cool night air.

"I hate cops." she muttered.

Celty nodded in agreement.

"That's why you wanted to get out of there, huh?"

Another nod.

They were both quiet for a while, then Celty took out her phone.

'It's that traffic cop! He chased me all over Ikibukuro! He had the entire police force hunting me down!' she shuddered at the memory, and Namie nodded sympathetically.

"I always used to bribe the cops, a couple hundred a month, but they decided that taking money from me on a regular basis didn't beat catching me and turning me in for a few thousand.

So now they're all after me. And, I never thought I'd say this, but thank goodness for Izaya. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have a place to stay, or even a steady paycheck."

Celty nodded once, typing.

'He can be a bit of a jerk at times, but he can also be really nice. He seems to like you.'

Namie felt a blush returning.

"I-I'm sure that you're imagining things..."

Celty's body shook slightly, and Namie could tell that the headless woman was laughing.

"Really! I feel like his mother!"

A pause as the other woman typed.

'I feel like Shinra's mother most of the time, too. Especially since I practically raised him. But he loves me and I definitely have feelings for him. You and Izaya seem to have a similar relationship. It's love, believe me."

Namie could feel her cheeks redden.

She'd never really considered that...

* * *

Back inside, Izaya and Shinra's drinking contest was progressing nicely.

Izaya was winning, and Shinra was stoned.

But that didn't stop the doctor from pestering the information broker about his relationship with his secretary.

"Why do you pay her so much for filing papers, huh? Is it 'cause you're - hic! - afraid she'll run away?" Shinra teased, his sentence interrupted by a small hiccup.

Izaya suddenly found the floor very interesting.

"HA! I - hic - KNEW IT!"

"You can't prove anything!" Izaya said quickly.

"Don't worry, though," the doctor continued as if he hadn't spoken, "She won't run away. She gives you that same look that - hic! - that Celty always gives me. That one that's like 'I think you're really annoying but I kinda' like you'."

Izaya glared back at the doctor.

"That argument's not half as convinshing when Celty doesn't have a head to give that look with." he muttered, trying to ignore the slight slur in his voice as he reached for another glass, "I'm winning, by the way."

"HEH?" Shinra sat up straight in his chair, rapidly counting the empty shot glasses that each of them had.

"HOW AM I LOSING? Nooooooo!"

With a smirk, Izaya downed another shot.

"Because no one can beat me. I'm good at everyshing."

Shinra gave him a sly smile.

"You also seem to be a good kisser. Namie-san looked quite happy..."

Izaya's eye twitched slightly, fixing the doctor with a flat, annoyed glare.

"I don't know if I like you when you're drunk, Shinra. You talk too much."

"I'm not - hic! - drunk..."

"You aren't posing a very convinshing argument..."

He didn't get a chance to continue the discussion, though, because Celty and Namie returned.

Celty seemed to examine Shinra for a second, then typed on her phone.

'Are you drunk?'

"Why yes, my dearest, however did you guess? -Hic!-"

"You jusht told me you weren't drunk!" Izaya protested.

Namie sighed.

"Well, seeing as the pair of you are obviously stoned, we'd better take them home, huh, Celty-san?" she asked.

The Dullahan nodded in agreement, taking Shinra's arm, and Namie reached out for Izaya.

"Come on, Izaya, you too."

The information broker chuckled as Namie took his arm and helped him to his feet.

"Really, Namie-chan, this attention isn't neshessary. Those drinks haven't even affected me." he smiled.

"Yeah, right. Then what's with that stupid expression?"

"What shtoopid expression?"

"You're slurring your words." She muttered.

"Namie, I guarantee you," Izaya said, taking his arm back and grabbing his coat. "I am cone sold stober." And with that, he turned and walked right into the wall.

* * *

COMPUTER PROBLEMS (Thank you, Killaman. ^^)

* * *

"NOOOOOOOOO!"

Namie looked up from her computer screen as she heard Izaya wail in agony.

"What on _Earth_...?"

"They- they can't DO this to me!"

"...heh?"

"Not fair! I wasn't even breaking any of the _rules_...!"

"Izaya, if you don't mind my asking just what in _hell's_ name you're talking about..."

The information broker spun his chair around from the computer with such violence that he missed grabbing the desk and had to wait for it to rotate a second time before he could stand.

"My Online RPG! My level 157 Battle-mage! GONE!"

Namie watched in silence as he stormed his way over to the couch, slumped into a pathetic heap across it, stayed there for a few seconds, then lurched to his feet again and began pacing the room like a caged tiger.

"What will I do? I can't get it back...it's just digital files...they've been deleted...I spent HOURS leveling that character up! And what about all my ITEMS and GOLD?"

Finally unable to sit calmly and just watch, Namie caught Izaya's coat sleeve as he doubled back past her for the third time.

"Would you just sit down and tell me what happened?" she muttered darkly.

He hesitated for a second, then let out a dramatic sigh of misery and flopped limply across the couch once again, his arm strewn across his eyes.

"It's horrible...my life is over..."

"You're not going to die - I could never be that fortunate. Now are you going to tell me? Or are you going to shut up and leave me in peace for a while?"

Izaya rolled rather clumsily over onto his stomach, leaning on his elbows with his face propped in his hands.

"I was playing Mysteries of the Equinox, (Secrets of the Solstice copyright - FAIL. I know.) and I was with a bunch of lower level characters, and I had told them that they could come with me to a really high-level place to get a lot of experience points from what I killed..."

"That's uncharacteristically generous of you." Namie muttered.

"Then I led them out into the middle of the forest, got a bunch of monsters chasing us, then warped back to the town and let them all get killed."

"Now that's a bit more like what I was expecting." she said, her eyes not moving from her own computer screen.

"But when I got back, one of the moderator's characters was there, and he threw my character in jail!"

"Why?"

Izaya let out another sigh.

"Apparently, the rules of the RPG prevent trolling, so I was breaking the rules. But my character was stuck in the jail for FIFTEEN HOURS!"

"So stop whining and do something else till tomorrow."

"But you don't understand, Namie! There was a special event in an hour!"

"So?"

"So I broke out!"

"...you can break out of jail in a computer game?"

"It's called a system hack, Namie dear. A cheat code? A glitch? Heard of it before?"

"I get the idea, Orihara. Wrap this up, would you?"

He let out a rather annoyed sigh, for some reason expecting sympathy from her.

"So I broke out of jail, and went to the event."

Namie paused the movie clip she was watching and turned to glare at Izaya.

"So if you got your character out, why are you making such a fuss over it?" she growled.

Izaya sniffled.

"Because the moderator caught me and banned me from the game."

Namie held his gaze evenly for a few seconds, but couldn't hide the smile that had begun to form on her lips.

"Heh? Namie? What's so funny?"

She was laughing now.

"You - hahaha - got banned? - hahaha - you got banned from your game! Hahahahaha!"

"Namie! This isn't funny! It's horrible!"

"How - hahaha - how many HOURS have you put - hahaha - into leveling up that character? Hahaha!"

Izaya got to his feet, leaving over Namie.

"I lost all my items and gold too! And the other three characters! They blocked my entire PROFILE! They've destroyed my LIFE, Namie! STOP LAUGHING!"

"But that's the whole idea!" she grinned back, "With something as simple as a random online moderator clicking a mouse, your 'life' is destroyed! Hahahahahahaha...!"

Izaya gave up, sulking his way back over to stare at his computer screen dejectedly.

After another minute or so, Namie's laughter had died down into small giggles.

She took out her cell phone, stealthily taking a picture of Izaya in this pathetic state, but he looked up as he heard the small click.

"Namie...?" he asked, somewhat darkly, "What are you doing?"

"Nothing to be bothering yourself with, Izaya." she said, saving the picture, loading it up into a text, and typing 'His MMORPG profile just got deleted for misconduct', before sending it to Shizuo.

The information broker reached her side just as the message finished sending, and she snapped her cell closed before he could see the screen.

"What?"

"I was just seeing what you're up to..." he replied non-chalantly, giving her a little shrug.

Her phone rang just then, and she promptly snapped it open.

"Hello? Yagiri Namie speaking, who is-"

A loud laugh echoed form the other side, and Namie smirked as Izaya flinched, recognizing Shizuo's voice from the other line.

"That's funny! So, the flea got his profile deleted? Hahahahaha!"

Izaya grumbled, wishing horrible suffering on all of them, and went back to his computer to sulk.

* * *

So that's the end of my spam.

I told you I'd get it out this wekend, and I'm gonna freaking have it out this weekend! (I don't count it as Monday till I have to get up and get ready for school. The 'after midnight it's the next day' rule had no meaning to me.)

And seeing as I'm falling askeep as I type this and I have to get up early for school tomorrow...yeah, I'm going to bed.

Enjoy! *asleep across keyboard*


	9. Not as alive as I was last chapter

It's time for MOVIE MADNESS! Where Kage-Tora no Tsume steals movie plotlines and scenes, then re-vamps them and puts her fanfic characters in for the actors!

First - the kid's cartoon, Cat's Don't Dance! The scene where Danny first arrives in town.

Danny = Izaya

Sawyer = Namie

Other animals = other charachters *can't remember character names exactly and can't be bothered looking them up*

(Admittedly, this is a very lazy way to write a fanfic, but I'm literally being murdered by school work right now, so I'm happy to get anything up.)

* * *

It had been one HELL of a morning...

Namie's alarm hadn't gone off, which meant she was now late and rushing.

It didn't help, of course, that a young, dark-haired man took her taxi, and she was left standing on the street corner with mud splattered along the hem of her long skirt from where the cab had driven through a puddle.

Cursing, she turned to flag down another taxi.

After five minutes of waving, though, her arm was tired, and she was going to be late.

Or, more accurately, late-ER.

Giving up on the taxi altogether, she ran a short ways down the road to the trolley stop, getting on one of the red cable cars as it passed.

She found a seat and settled herself, taking the lid off her coffee and adding the sugar and cream. She had been about to take a careful sip of the hot liquid, when something landed on the roof of the car with a heavy 'THUD', causing her to jump in surprise and burn her tongue.

There were a few more thuds, which the other passengers seemed to be oblivious to, and then the cable car jolted, loosing power for a split second as the antenna-looking rod on the roof was disconnected from the power source above.

Now the coffee covered the front of her, uncomfortably warm through her jacket, and her briefcase was damp.

A few more jolts, then the cable car reached the next stop and slowed to a standstill.

The dark haired man who had stolen her taxi earlier leaped off the top of the cab, hopping from one car roof to the next.

Namie tried to make a run for her office building, dodging around the cars, and had to leap back as a few came to screeching halts just inches from hitting her.

The man seemed to be in some suspended state of bliss, because he was dancing around carelessly, and humming in a rather off-key manner completely oblivious to his surroundings.

Specifically her.

Edging to the far reaches of his craziness, she thought she would be able to get past, but she found herself pinned between the large fountain in the center of the plaza and the dark-haired man. She tried to take a step back and go around him, but he had moved by the time she had changed position, and once again blocked her.

After three or four more blocks, she took one last step back, accidentally caught her heel on the edge of the fountain, overbalanced, and fell into the water.

The man, still oblivious, performed one last twirl on his heel, then retreated into the building, leaving her to climb out of the fountain and attempt to gather herself once again before showing up for work.

Half an hour late.

* * *

As she walked into her office (a casting agency) she found a few of her acquaintances sitting in the lobby, probably hoping to be cast in the next big Hewajima movie.

"Hi Namie!"

"'Morning, Namie."

'Hello, Namie.'

The last message Namie glanced at over the phone of Celty, who, strangely, didn't seem very out of place in the room full of Hollywood miscreants.

"Hey, guys. How are you all?"

"Fine here, Namie, but you don't look so well...did something happen this morning?"

She scoffed, beginning to shed her dripping hat, scarf, and coat.

"Yeah. A lunatic crossed my path."

'Really? Was he young?' Celty typed.

"Yeah."

'Dark hair?'

"Yep."

'Red eyes?'

"Uh-huh."

'Black, fur-trimmed jacket?'

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Namie asked, placing her dripping coat on the hook and turning to face the headless woman.

She shrugged. 'Dullahan intuition?'

"Yeah, right. Were you watching out the window?"

"Not the whole thing, but I saw you get dumped in the fountain! It was hilarious!"

"Thank you, Erica, I'm glad that my misery can bring you such happiness..."

"Aw, I didn't mean it like that, Namie!"

"Well, I saw that guy come in this building, so I'm not leaving this office till I see him get in a taxi and leave." Namie muttered, opening her briefcase and laying out papers to dry.

"He couldn't have been _that_ bad, could he?"

"Yes."

"Aw, so no cannon pairing for Namie yet?"

"No, Walker, there's no-...whatever you just said. I'll only accept the perfect guy."

'Well, you better get yourself cleaned up, in case you cross paths with him.'

"Please, Celty. In _this_ casting agency? I doubt it."

'Anything's possible...'

"It's not like the perfect guy's gonna' come waltzing through that door at any min-"

Namie had begun walking to the boss's office, when the door was suddenly slammed open, trapping her against the file cabinet behind it and nearly crushing her.

The boss strode out, talking to someone loudly.

A few seconds later (enough time for Namie to gather her surroundings and figure out what had happened) her boss broke off mid-conversation.

"WHERE'S NAMIE?"

She chose this moment to give the door a light shove, letting it swing back closed and reveal her bedraggled figure.

"Ah, Namie! Darling, _sweetheart_, I have a favor to ask my _favorite_ secretary..."

"Whatever it is, the answer's 'no'." she replied bluntly, beginning to collect the papers she had been holding.

"I can't find an actress to play a part in the new Hewajima movie..." he continued, pretending he hadn't heard her.

"So why don't you play the role yourself?"

"True, I may be devilishly handsome..." a pause in the sentence while he admired his own reflection in the window, "Thing is, though, they were very particular about the actress' looks, and it's funny, but you fit that description perfectly." he hinted.

"I'm a secretary, not an actress." she said coolly, taking a seat at her desk to file the papers away in the proper drawers.

Her boss leaned across the desk.

"Namie-wamie-pleasie-wease?" he asked, giving her the best puppy eyes he could muster. She didn't even look up.

"Not gonna happen."

"You're killing me here, Namie!" he said, striking a rather dramatic pose of despair, then getting an idea, quickly added "I'll give you double pay!"

"Triple pay."

"TRIPLE PAY?"

"Is there an echo in here?" she looked around for said 'echo' while her boss fumed.

"You're pushing it...!  
"No cash no acting."

"FINE, triple pay."

"And weekends off."

"ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT, weekends too! Now here's your partner, PLAY NICE!"

Before Namie could celebrate her victory, she found herself promptly shoved face to face with none other than...

"Augh! Forget it!" she cried, shoving the other person away and turning to stalk off. Her boss caught her arm, though.

"Now, now, Namie, we have a deal! You're due in Studio 13 in half an hour. Don't be late!" And with that, he shoved Namie into the other person's arms once again before disappearing back into his office.

Namie was left glaring at her new partner - the red-eyed man who had ruined her morning.

"W-wow..." he said softly, looking her over, "So...I guess we're partners?"

She didn't answer - merely placed a finger against his chest and applied light pressure until he backed away from her.

"I guess so."

"Well, that's good news." He grinned, following her around the room as she collected her things, preparing to head over to the studio.

Namie pretended not to notice the others giving her smiles that promised trouble and a lot of teasing later on.

One thing she noticed quickly about this man was that he NEVER SHUT UP.

"My name's Izaya, and I've gathered that your name is Namie. I'm from Ikebukuro, you know that area? Well, I'm familiar with that famous actor, Hewajima, through his older brother. I know him, he lives in my town. The brother, that is. So I decided that I'd try out for a movie so Shizuo - that's the brother - could see me acting with his brother. This is going to be so much fun, and I'm sure the two of us will get along just GREAT! Hey, when we get to the studio, do you think-"

Namie had gathered her things as he talked, putting her wet coat back on with a grimace, and headed toward the door.

Still talking, he at least had the decency to open the door for her.

As Namie stepped out into the hallway, he shut the door quickly behind them.

She tried to walk off, only found that he had closed her coat tail in the door.

Treating him to an icy glare as he sheepishly opened the door again, she made a mental note to physically harm her boss later.

"S-sorry..." Izaya said, but she couldn't tell if he was really sorry, or if he was just trying not to laugh.

Snatching her coat close, she stalked out of the building, trying to ignore the non-stop verbal torrent that came from him.

One part caught her attention, though, right before they got to the studio.

"Hey! So in this movie, we're supposed to be the only two humans left alive after a huge disaster! Pretty great, huh?" he grinned, walking backwards as he stood in her path.

"Yes...so much for the survival of the species." she grinned back, but her smile was anything but pleasant.

He seemed to think over this comment for a minute, then his face fell a bit.

"Hey~!"

But he didn't get a chance to continue, because they arrived in the studio, and he was instantly overwhelmed by everything going on.

Namie took this chance to lose him.

As she made her way over to costumes, minus the chatty pest, she vaguely wondered if her boss would be too angry with her if she were to 'accidentally' push Izaya in front of a tour bus...

* * *

Awkward cutoff point is awkward.

Anyway...

Secondly...MY HALLOWEEN SPECIAL! (Yes, I know it's two months too late for Halloween...I've had no time...give me a break...)

*has been delaying typing because of lingering Caporal Tunnel due to spending 10 hours carving her pumpkin over 2 days (I don't have an obsession with Halloween! (Yeah, right...) It came out really cool, though.) , writing 3 programs in Java coding for class (Ugh...) 2-day US Gov test of death with super-huge essay, homework from then to the present, and having to trace pictures through where I didn't really consider that patterned clothing and grass were going to take for FREAKING ever to draw, so, yeah...* (Yes, I'm making excuses...)

A~nyway...here's a little Halloween-themed story that I came up with, my inspiration being the really old stop-motion animation movie Mad Monster Party.

Have fun!

(As usual, I don't own anything I'm writing about.)

Dr Frankenstein - Shingen

Francesca - Namie

Felix - Izaya

Dracula - Kida

Werewolf - Tom

Dr Jekyle/Mr Hyde - Shizuo

Invisible man - Mikado

Mummy - Shinra

Monster - Seiji

Monster's mate - Mika

Creature from black lagoon - (REPLACED)

Demon blade - Anri

Hunchback of Notre Dame - (REPLACED)

Headless rider - Celty

Zombie servants - deus-ex-machina squad

* * *

Shingen stood, mixing chemicals carefully before a table crowded with scientific equipment and bottled liquids in varying states of readiness.

A few more touches were all that was needed before the potion was ready.

"Now," he said aloud to no one in particular as the vial's contents changed color, "To add the final touch...pure energy!"

[That being said, he placed the vial in the center of a platform, held level, and raised the platform.] (Do something with this, please)

As the platform ascended into the night air, it was hit by a bolt of lightning.

The potion was complete.

Cackling madly, Shingen lowered the platform excitedly.

"I'VE DONE IT!"

"Doctor, are you electrocuting things again?" A slightly cynical, yet still respectful voice asked from the doorway.

Shingen turned to address the speaker, holding the vial in a pair of tongs.

"As a matter of fact, yes, Namie. I AM electrocuting things. And it WORKED!"

"I'm glad to hear that." she replied with a bit of forced emotion as she strode up to his lab table, "You have mail."

The doctor took the letters she offered, opening the first one.

"Ah, how wonderful! Shizuo will be able to attend. And what does this one say...?"

He paused for a second to read the letter.

"Ha-ha! My son and his wife will also be there!"

Namie waited patiently as he read through letters, checking names off of an imaginary attendance list as each guest that had been invited sent in their RSVP.

"Doctor Kushitani, is that all you will be needing from me?"

"Hm? What? Oh, yes, Namie, that's all. Before you leave, though, have we received any letters from an Izaya Orihara?"

"Yes. He said he would be able to come."

"Splendid! He _is_ the most important guest, after all..."

"Most important...?" Namie asked, getting a bad feeling.

"Why yes! It is _imperative_ that he be at my retirement party, because he is the one that will be inheriting my fortune, and all my secrets."

Namie's mouth opened in shock for a second, but she promptly closed it again.

"Wouldn't you normally be leaving that to either Seiji or me?"

"No, no. I can't possibly register my will to a creation. The government would be ALL OVER this place if we didn't have official birth certificates for you two." He replied non-chalontly as he handed the envelopes back to her.

"Why not give the title to your son then?" Namie asked, glaring at the letters as if they were the being she was mad at.

"Because he has no talent for evil. At all. I once tried giving him a pair of scissors and a small rabbit..."

"But why," Namie cut him off, not wishing to hear about the doctor trying to convince his son to murder a bunny, "do you want the title to go to this..." she checked the envelope again, "Orihara Izaya person?"

"He's my nephew." the doctor replied simply, "And he's got a knack for evil if I've ever seen it. The only problem is that he's got an obsession with humans..."

Her eyebrow quirked slightly, but Dr. Kushitani pretended not to notice her unspoken curiosity.

"That's easily remedied, however. Now, for the party...Has the menu been planned?"

"Yes."

"Good. Now, have the-"

A low grunt came from the door, interrupting the doctor's train of thought, and the two turned to see their visitor.

"Seiji!" Namie chirped, all seriousness gone in the joy at seeing Dr. Kushitani's first creation and her current obsession.

The boy cringed slightly as Namie all but skipped over and took his hand in hers.

"I don't get to see much of you anymore! You should come up and visit more often!"

The boy grunted again, the sound an attempt to stop Namie's pestering without actually having to talk to her.

Unfortunately, she took it as his agreeing to visit more often, and clutched his arm more tightly.

"Are you here to spend the afternoon with me?"

Before Seiji could utter a sound, there was a shrill 'hey!' from the hall, and within three seconds, Namie found herself face-to-face with a very angry girl who had a scarred neck.

"Dr. Kushitani! Namie's trying to steal my Seiji again!"

"YOUR Seiji?" the secretary asked the new arrival indignantly, "What makes you think he belongs to you?"

"Because I was created especially for him!"

"You were not, freak!"

"Yes I was! Tell her, Doctor Kushitani!"

"Well, in all honesty, yes, I created Mika for Seiji..." the doctor started.

"There! See? Now leave Seiji alone!" Mika snapped, shoving Namie off and taking her place clinging to the boy's arm, "Besides, you're his freaking sister!"

"I am not!"

It was Namie's turn to shove Mika out of the way and grab onto Seiji's arm again.

"Yes you are!"

"No, I'm not!"

"Dr. Kushitani!" Mika whined.

"You two were created from the same DNA, so I suppose that would make you brother and sister..." Dr. Kushitani interjected in an attempt to be helpful.

"So there!" Mika stuck out her tongue, "Incest freak."

"Shut up, scrap meat! That's just a technicality!" Namie shot back. Then, to Dr. Kushitani, "Stop siding with her, damnit!"

"He's only siding with me 'cause I'm right and _yo~ou_ know it!" Mika sneered.

"Come a bit closer so I can claw that smile off your face-!"

"Now now, girls..." Dr. Kushitani said, trying to stop the two from attacking one another. Seiji was the one to end the argument, however, by stepping between the two.

Unwilling to upset Seiji, despite their feelings for one another, the two quieted down, each clinging to one of his arms.

"Now," the doctor resumed, clapping his hands together once, "to prepare for the guests. Mika? I need rooms set up for all of them. Namie, I need help with the schedule..."

"Already completed."

"Oh. Well, then. How about the servants? Have they been instructed on what to do at-"

"Yes. Twice."

Doctor Kushitani was quiet for a moment.

"Well, that's everything I can think of. You can go relax somewhere for a while."

"I'll help Seiji." she offered, sneakily sticking her tongue out at Mika when the doctor wasn't looking.

"He's going to be lifting furniture for me, Namie, I don't think you'll be able to help."

"I don't see why no-"

"Stop trying to steal my Seiji!" Mika snapped, stepping around said boy to glare straight into Namie's eyes.

"You stole _my_ Seiji first!" Namie countered.

"Did not!"

"Did too! He was mine before you were even created! So _there_!"

"But you weren't created FOR him! SO THERE!"

"Girls, girls..." Dr. Kushitani again tried to interject.

When he'd created Mika for Seiji, he had NO idea just what he was getting himself into...

* * *

"You suspect your husband is cheating on you, yes?"

Izaya Orihara cautiously balanced bottles of pills as he talked.

"Well, he is. Just not in the way that you think. You see, your husband is gay, so every night when your neighbor's husband and he go out 'bowling'..."

The woman he had been talking to had finally listened to enough, and with one sharp move, swung her hand and knocked over the pill bottles.

"What right do you have to say that? I'm going to management about you!"

Izaya watched her storm over to his boss, talking very passionately and pointing in his direction.

Onc his boss caught sight of who the woman was talking about, he rolled his eyes, shot Izaya a death glare, told the woman he would take care of it, and began walking over.

"Izaya...!"

"Yes, Mr. Yamato?" Izaya said innocently.

"Don't give me that. You've been playing mind games with customers again!"

"How am I supposed to resist? They come in here and start talking to be about their personal life, how can I stop myself from mind-screwing them?"

"Izaya..." this time his name was growled out under the boss' breath.

"Just take it out of my paycheck, Mr. Yamato."

"Izaya, you're already working for me without pay for five years before you even break even. Yet instead of trying to get yourself out of debt, you're over here slacking off! There are pull bottles to be stacked, prescriptions to fill, bathrooms to clean! What am I (not) paying you for, Izaya?"

"I'll get to work on that right away..." Izaya mumbled, snatching pill bottles off the floor.

Before the boss could comment again, the bell on the front door rang, and one of Izaya's messengers brought him a letter.

"Here. Looks important." the man muttered, handing him the letter before leaving again.

Ripping it open quickly, Izaya whipped out the letter.

"Wow."

"What's that, Izaya...?"

"Oh, wow..."

"What? 'Wow' what?"

"Really? THIS IS GREAT!"

"Izaya! For heaven's sake, tell me what it says...!"  
"I've been invited to a convention! On a tropical island! In the Carribean!"

"WHAAAAAAAT?"

"This'll be GREAT! Glistening beaches, great scenery, girls in bakinis...Oh, can I go, Mr. Yamato! I haven't taken time off of work for three years! It'll only be the weekend!"

His boss' smile took on a scheming edge to it.

"Well, now...with all the debt you're in, I don't know if I can manage..."

He was interrupted by an angry cry.

"There he is!"

Izaya and Mr. Yamato turned to look at the front door, held open by a very angry woman.

"You tried to convince my daughter to jump off a building!" she yelled, pointing at Izaya.

"You know what, fine! Go! Take a week, a month, a YEAR if you have to! Just go! Go! GO! Get out of my store!" Mr. Yamato began shouting, waving his arms around as he tried to chase Izaya out.

"Thanks, Mr. Yamato! You won't regret this!"

"I'm sure I won't. It may be _your_ vacation, but it's _my_ holiday..."

Izaya skipped out the door as his boss cackled to himself.

TO BE CONTINUED...

* * *

Well, that's all Ive got for now.

I'll post the next part of this story in the next chapter I get up. I can't guarantee that I'll get anything up over Christmas break, but I'll try.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a math worksheet that's sitting on my desk glaring at me...

Untill next time, thanks for reading! ~Kage-Tora no Tsume ^^

(Please review! It makes me feel loved!)


	10. Shortest Chapter Yet

I'M SO SORRY BUT SCHOOLWORK ATE ME AND I'VE BEEN SPAMMING AVEYOND FANFICS AND I HAVEN'T UPDATED IN FOREVER!

Please forgive me! T.T

I don't have much to offer, but it's something. I need to go back to full-time shipping this pairing. Maybe when I get around to watching the second season...

I haven't gotten much more in for the other chapter, so I'll post the rest later. (Meaning probably next Halloween. Oh God, I haven't updated this since October?)

In the meantime, I found a picture on failblog that inspired me.

So I wrote a fanfiction about it.

Well, as usual, none of the characters are mine (bummer) but enjoy it anyway!

* * *

Namie balanced the shopping bags as she fumbled with her keys, unlocking the door to Izaya's apartment. He had sent her off to pick up some computer parts for him, while he 'held down the fort' as he had said.

The lock clicked and, turning the handle, she shoved the door open.

To her surprise, the place was deserted.

Izaya's desk was empty, his laptop turned off and folded closed. His game board had been moved to a high shelf, and the dullahan's head was safely stowed behind the books near that.

The TV had been shoved as far back into the corner as it would go, and turned so that the glass was facing the wall.

Anything breakable or valuable had been moved from its original spot, and placed up high, out of harm's way.

It was almost as if the place had been locked down.

Then she saw the note.

Placing Izaya's computer parts on the kitchen table, she retrieved the scrap from the floor.

It was a simple piece of paper that he had left, with only three words on it.

'Check desk drawer'.

She walked over to his desk, pulling open the top drawer.

Inside she found...

...

He was kidding.

He HAD to be kidding.

A second note lay inside the drawer, next to a loaded, 6-shot Nerf gun.

The note said:

"Welcome home!" *insert a few hearts here*

"Two things:

1 - This gun with ammo is yours

2 - I have one too and you're under attack as of now."

*insert drawing of skull and crossbones*

Namie looked around sharply, prepared for Izaya to pounce from behind some piece of furniture.

Of COURSE he would think of something like this to throw at her...

With a sigh, she grabbed the gun.

May as well play along.

He _was_ the one paying her, after all...

She had no sooner turned around, when Izaya appeared at the top of the stairs; screamed "SPARTA!" in English for some unknown reason; and fired off a shot.

Out of instinct more than anything else, Namie ducked the shot, then blinked back up at a dumbfounded Izaya, waiting for him to make his next move.

The information broker quickly collected himself, and shot two more Styrofoam darts at her.

One of which missed sadly, due to a rather Street-Fighter-esque move he attempted while shooting, the other of which she was able to bat aside with her gun before it made contact.

The silence returned as the two stood, staring at one another, Namie with calm annoyance, and Izaya with stupefied awe.

"How...did..."

Namie leveled the gun at him, and Izaya promptly disappeared behind the banister.

With a sigh, she walked toward the stairs.

She could hear him scrambling around up there, hiding in one of the rooms.

Might as well get this over with.

It took Namie a few seconds to ascend the stairs, her footsteps making no noise on the carpet.

With her back pressed against the wall, Namie edged over to the first room, listening for any sign that Izaya was hiding inside. When the silence continued, she stepped quickly through the doorway, her body tensed and ready to shoot the first thing that moved.

The room was empty, though.

Stationing herself by the doorway, Namie debated the best route to the next room, getting strange Call of Duty flashbacks.

She had no sooner chosen a path and set foor outside the doorway, when something moved in the next room over.

Her breath hitching as she choked back a cry of surprise and suppressed an adrenaline rush, she ducked back inside the room as Izaya stuck his head out of the doorway and looked around.

Namie waited as she heard his soft footsteps coming down the hall...waiting for him to reach the spot right outside the room she was in where the floor creaked.

Three things happened very quickly.

There was a loud creak as Izaya stepped on the loose floorboard.

Izaya cursed loudly and began running for the stairs.

Namie ran out of the room to get him and the two collided in the hall, winding up in a heap on the floor.

Namie muttered a curse, realizing that Izaya's body pinned her weapon to the floor beneath them, as the information broker tried to detangle himself.

She managed to plant her foot against his side and kick him off of her, but Izaya was on his feet first, and Namie scrambled into a run, just barely missing getting hit by his shot.

She ran down the stairs as fast as she could without tripping, again narrowly escaping one of Izaya's shots as it hit the banister instead of her head.

Namie ran for the kitchen as Izaya fired another shot, not having left his spot at the top of the stairs. It fell short, though, and he began to follow her as Namie ran into the kitchen and found herself backed into a dead end.

Cursing, she whirled around to find Izaya striding toward her with the barrel of his gun trained on her head.

There was nowhere for her to hide, and no way to escape.

Damn.

Izaya smirked as he strode toward her.

"Well, now, Namie. Backed yourself into a corner, have you?"

She didn't reply, leveling her gun at him, prepared to go down fighting.

"Such a shame. I expected you to at least fire a few shots..."

His finger tightened slightly.

Izaya's lips tugged up into a smug little smirk.

"Game over."

He pressed the trigger-

Nothing.

He was out of ammo.

Namie gave him a smirk, and he muttered a curse.

The information broker turned and ran, Namie hot on his heels, chasing him through the apartment until he had backed himself into a corner, just like she had.

He turned around slowly, giving her his characteristic grin and shrug.

"Guess you got me."

Standing up straight, the picture of confidence, Izaya taunted:

"Well now, Namie, let's see if you're any good at-"

Before he could finish his sentence, she had pointed the gun at him and fired off all six rounds, in quick succession, each nailing him right in the forehead.

The information broker didn't move, or blink, or even appear to be breathing for about fifteen seconds, then lowered his gaze to meet hers slowly, jaw hanging open in shock.

"How...how did you-?" Izaya stuttered.

Namie grinned back at him sweetly, lowering the plastic weapon to her side.

"You forget; I have a younger brother. I've done this enough times for it to be second nature to me."

Swinging back into his 'you-didn't-shock-me-because-I'm-Izaya-and-I-know-everything' mode, he flashed her a grin.

"Ah, well. I should have known. I only hire the best, after all."

Namie rolled her eyes, setting the nerf gun down and walking back toward the kitchen.

"Whatever. Dinner's at seven. Don't be-"

Namie felt Izaya step close behind her, and before she could react, he had looped his arms around her waist, pulling her back into a hug.

"Thanks, Namie." he grinned, kissing her cheek, before letting her go and flouncing off like nothing had happened.

The scientist was left staring in shock for a moment, then she shook her head.

He was so strange...

* * *

Yes, I know, that was HORRIBLY short...and I can't honestly say I'll have more anytime soon...but seniors get out of school in 30-something days, so I'll have more time on my hands to write!

In other news, I hope all my readers are doing something to help Japan, whether that's donating to help over there, or even just praying for them. They need all the help they can get. I'm going to try and get my school's Anime and Japan clubs together to do something, and I know that a lot of anime forums are already fundraising. Everyone join in! OTAKU OF THE WORLD UNITE! Let's help in any way we can!

Now that that's been said, I hope you enjoyed this, and please review!

(As a side note, Portal = WIN. And I did NOT just lose the game.)

Bye-bye!


	11. FILLER JOY

Hi again.

Well, good news and bad news.

Good news? I'm still alive and mostly well, and I have a fairly open summer ahead of me.

Bad news? My laptop with ALL MY FANFICTIONS ON IT died...and the best I can hope for is a document recovery. IF I'm lucky... T.T

So that's the reason I haven't updated, but I decided that I'd at least get SOMETHING up for you guys.

So, here's my little filler. I own nothing.

ENJOY!

* * *

A usual day for Namie:

6:00 - Wake up to obnoxious alarm clock, drag self out of bed, and get ready for work.

6:15 - Send Seiji a text saying 'good morning' for him to find when he wakes up and drive to work.

6:30 - Get stuck in traffic that she's SURE Izaya created for the SOLE purpose of making her late.

7:00 - Tone out said informant's lecture about her being late and make coffee.

7:15 - Make Izaya more coffee. Dear LORD he's downed the entire POT? That CAN'T be good…

7:30 - Dust book shelves while toning out coffee-induced rants from her boss.

7:45 - Take a suspiciously plain package to one of Izaya's 'clients'.

8:15 - Arrive back at apartment and ignore Izaya's questions about what took her so long.

8:30 - Check cell phone relentlessly every 20 seconds to see if Seiji is awake and has replied.

8:45 - Hide cell phone in desk to SHUT IZAYA UP about her brother.

9:00 - Check cell phone one last time when the informant's not looking and happily text her brother back a page-long reply to his comment 'Hi. What's up?'

10:00 - Try pathetically to defend herself once Izaya realizes that she spent an HOUR texting her brother.

10:15 - Spend 15 minutes threatening to PHYSICALLY HARM IZAYA if he doesn't GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HER THIS SECOND…!

10:30 - Finally enjoy some peace and quiet while Izaya trolls Ikebukuro.

12:15 - Attempt to patch up the bloody gash on Izaya's arm while he flails it around, telling her of his latest run-in with Shizuo. Clean blood off the carpet.

12:30 - File the stack of papers on Izaya's desk.

12:45 - Figure out what type of virus her stupid boss 'accidentally' downloaded on her laptop by using it to look up porn while she was filing said papers.

1:30 - Give up on virus and make lunch for Izaya, who is sprawled across the couch moaning about being hungry.

1:45 - Lunch break. Lecture Izaya into debugging her computer.

1:50 - Resist strangling him as he debugs it in 5 minutes.

2:00 - Izaya goes out again, wait for his phone calls to move game pieces on his board as she reads a book.

3:00 - Hang up phone and lock door 'accidentally' when he says he's on his way back. Turn up TV volume so she 'can't hear' him knocking to get in.

3:15 - Ignore phone calls from Izaya demanding that he be let in.

3:30 - Make metal note to steal his lock picks or have a deadbolt installed. Brush off his comments about her looking at naked pictures of her brother while trying not to blush.

3:45 - File papers. HOW does he already have another foot-tall stack? It's only been 3 HOURS!

4:00 - Finish filing papers only to discover that Izaya has messed up an entire file cabinet looking for the folder she left on his desk.

4:30 - Finaly get the file cabinet back in order. Resist strangling Izaya as he discovers that he needs all the papers she just filed back on his desk.

5:00 - Contemplate a way to murder Izaya that would be painful enough to make up for everything he's done as she reads her book.

5:30 - Ignore Izaya as he pesters her about reading instead of working. Point out that she's finished everything already.

6:00 - Contemplate even MORE painful ways to kill Izaya as she scrubs the kitchen floor and starts in on the rest of the list of tasks he's created for her.

7:00 - Begin to prepare diner. Listen to Izaya whining about wanting Russian Sushi.

7:30 - Finally get sick of his pestering and agree to go get Russian Sushi with him ONLY IF HE PAYS.

8:15 - Head back to apartment, feeling surprisingly peaceful after dinner with Izaya.

8:30 - Awkwardly sit on the couch next to Izaya, perfectly still, as he sleeps with his head in her lap.

8:45 - Get over previous awkwardness and read, absently playing with his hair without truly realizing it.

9:00 - Fall asleep half-way through chapter.

12:00 - Wake up partially as Izaya carries her into the bedroom. Dismiss it as a dream.

5:00 - Wake up to find Izaya sprawled across her, snoring, and decide that it's not worth going home at this point. Curse him with every ill fate she can come up with.

7:00 - Wake up, put on coffee. Text 'Good Morning' to Seiji. Look for Cyanide to put in Izaya's cup.

7:01 - Prepare for another LONG day as he wakes up and asks loudly from the other room how it feels to fall asleep next to a man that isn't Seiji.

* * *

Sorry...exceptionally short chapter...

I'll try to write some more, but I'm still staking my hopes on fixing my old laptop. Though, I'll hopefully get my new one before the end of the week.

Well, wish me luck, and please review!

Until later...HAPPY SUMMER!

~K.T.n.S.


	12. School killed me this time around

*bowing down begging for forgiveness*

I'msosorry I didn'tgetanytime andIreallyshouldn'tbe makingexcusesbut schooltookovermylife andIdidn'tgettime toupdateandI'msorryI'msorryI'msorry!

For a friend's birthday - random update. ^^"

I can't guarantee any sort of timely update, however.

Again, VERY sorry...please forgive me...

I don't own DRRR! or any of the characters. Now for the story:

* * *

The dark streets of Ikebukuro were deserted, a cold rain and biting wind making the normally pleasant Spring evening inhospitable to travelers.

Namely, one Izaya Orihara.

He'd just spent the last half hour running from the deranged blonde brute, and was now attempting to make his way through the deserted streets and rain to get back to his apartment.

Battered, bruised, exhausted, and just plain irate, Izaya was in NO mood to be trekking around the city. All he wanted was to go home and rest.

* * *

All Namie wanted was to go home and rest.

Unfortunately, her STUPID boss was still out wandering, and she couldn't leave till he got back.

It had been a long, rough day for her, and she REALLY didn't feel like putting up with the childish antics of said idiotic information broker.

Her brother had only answered one of her texts all day…and it was to tell her that he wanted her to leave his 'girlfriend' alone and stop texting him.

On top of that, Izaya had left her with a ton of work, and just this morning her company had finished being dissolved into Nexus - the foreign company that bought them out.

No, she was not in the mood to deal with anything right now…

* * *

Izaya wasn't in the mood to deal with anything right now, so when his secretary looked up and demanded tartly just where the HELL he'd been for the last hour as he staggered through the door, dripping wet and shivering, he replied sharply that he was attending to business – which was none of HER damn business – and that she should go back to texting her stupid brother and keeping her mouth shut. He didn't pay her to talk.

* * *

WHO DOES HE THINK HE IS? Barging in at some ungodly hour at night – scratch that, the NEXT MORNING – after giving her work all day then vanishing off to heaven-knows-where for hours before returning, only to give her crap about her brother? Unable to force herself into calmly dismissing his petty insults, Namie stingingly replied that her brother was none of his concern, and if he kept her at work this late again, she'd personally give Shizuo his home address.

* * *

Cocky little brat…threaten me with Shizuo? Fine. Two can play at that game.

Izaya curtly told her that should Shizuo find his home address, a group of gangsters might find her precious little brother and break his neck.

* * *

Namie was at his throat in the second it took him to turn around.

The tip of Izaya's own flick-knife held against his jugular, Namie snarled out that if he EVER threatened Seiji again, she would personally end him.

She didn't expect him to grab the knife.

Or pin her back against the wall.

* * *

Izaya slammed Namie back against the wall, noting her slight flinch.

NO ONE threatened him with his own knife.

He was going to have to make her suffer for that.

Before he even realized what he was doing, he had leaned close, their faces mere inches apart. Izaya snarled 'I'll do whatever I want to your stupid brother, and the same goes for you!'

To prove it, he roughly kissed her.

Namie bit him.

* * *

THAT BASTARD!

Her first kiss was meant for Seiji!

Namie sank her teeth into Izaya's lip as he kissed her, feeling a thrill of victory as he grunted in pain and drew back, licking blood from his skin.

Her victory was short lived as Izaya grabbed her wrist, spinning her around and throwing her onto the couch. She looked up into smoldering red eyes.

* * *

Izaya stood over her as she glared up at him through dark bangs.

He'd teach her.

He was IZAYA ORIHARA.

You didn't mess with him unless you wanted to die.

He easily caught her wrist as she tried to strike him, kneeling beside her and pinning her back.

She struggled, but he was stronger.

Izaya kissed her again, giving her a taste of her own medicine and biting till he tasted blood.

* * *

She choked back a small whimper as Izaya broke skin, tasting salty blood on the tip of her tongue.

Her brain refused to work for a few seconds as Izaya's tongue rasped against her lip.

He was too strong for her to get her arms lose…

However, he hadn't pinned her legs.

Namie brought her knee sharply up into Izaya's groin.

* * *

PAIN.

Stars danced for a second as pain overloaded his senses and his body curled into the fetal position of its own accord.

He vaguely felt himself falling and realized that Namie had freed herself and kicked him onto the floor.

* * *

She glared down at Izaya's trembling body, knowing that when he got up, he would be mad.

Namie debated leaving, but the smarter option was ruled out in favor of revenge.

He stole her first kiss.

That belonged to Seiji.

He would pay.

* * *

Izaya had barely started recovering from her last blow when he felt her grab a handful of his hair.

His head was pulled back and his red eyes locked with her burning gaze.

"If you EVER pull a stunt like that again," she snarled, "I WILL KILL YOU."

Izaya couldn't help but laugh.

* * *

Namie was a bit taken aback as he began laughing.

"Really, Namie? You think that you could beat me if I was _actually_ trying to hurt you?"

She didn't get a chance to react as he once again grabbed her wrist, and she found herself on the floor, pinned beneath him, the breath knocked from her lungs.

"Do you think that if I wanted you to suffer, that I couldn't make it happen?"

His finger trailed from her collar up her neck and lifted her chin so that she was forced to meet his eyes.

* * *

He felt Namie shudder slightly as he leaned close, making sure his lips brushed her ear as he whispered "However, I won't hurt you if you beg me."

Her only reply was a short, sharp laugh. Bitter, without humor.

"Beg? Honestly, Izaya, you give yourself too much credit…"

Izaya saw her shift her weight slightly, and acted accordingly.

He was able to dodge this time.

* * *

Namie cursed mentally as Izaya rolled off her in time to avoid another shot to the crotch, keeping her pinned in place regardless.

He laughed again, that annoying, _irritating_ laugh of his, as she tried to wrench her wrists free of his grasp unsuccessfully.

Huffing in aggravation, she glared up at him.

"What the hell do you want, Izaya?"

* * *

"I don't _want_ anything per se, but I would enjoy making you suffer a bit for attacking me~" he purred, his finger rubbing a small circle on one of her wrists in a tenderly threatening manner.

Namie wasn't fazed by his words. Or, at least, if she was, she didn't show it, instead treating him to another of her signature death glares.

Slightly irritated at the lack of reaction, he decided to add another jab.

"Unless of course, Namie _enjoyed_ the kiss, and wants more~"

At this, his secretary laughed aloud.

* * *

Namie took a few seconds to get her laughter under control, noticing the blank look Izaya was giving her with amusement.

He really was an idiot.

Did he _really_ think she would tolerate anyone but her precious Seiji?

ESPECIALLY if that person was him?

That was just _too_ funny.

* * *

"Really, Izaya…I know that everyone hates you, but you can't really be THAT desperate…to the point that you're going after your secretary…"

…huh?

He leaned back to see her feral grin.

"Your precious 'humanuty' that you love so much has deserted you. You're alone in the world, Izaya."

He winced slightly, the energy to fight slowly draining from him as he realized just how true those words were. His humans…his lovely humans…they all hated him, didn't they…?

* * *

"Yes…" he said softly, his finger once again stroking her neck.

"I _am_ all alone in the world. . .but so are you."

She flinched as his words hit her.

Seiji, the only person she had left, didn't care about her, and she knew it.

Izaya's hand gently cupped her cheek, the anger from earlier replaced with a sort of defeated exhaustion.

"The two of us are pretty sad, huh, Namie-chan…"

His arms slipped around her shoulders and back, and he pulled her into a tight embrace.

"This world sucks…"

* * *

She was surprised by this - he could feel her muscles tense.

But, to his bemusement, she didn't shove him away or struggle.

Instead, he felt her slowly relax into his grip as her head came to lean against his shoulder.

Namie wrapped her arms around Izaya's neck, returning his embrace.

"Yes…this world does suck…" she whispered.

The anger had dissipated from her tone, replaced with the same exhausted misery that his voice carried.

* * *

Izaya leaned back slightly, tipping Namie's chin so he could see her eyes.

They were slightly glassy, and Izaya shot her a soft smile before he leaned close and brushed his lips against hers.

She jumped slightly in surprise, but didn't try to break away.

After a few seconds, she kissed him back.

* * *

It must have been that she was missing Seiji, combined with the fact that she had someone who knew exactly what she was going through…

She wouldn't have allowed him to kiss her otherwise.

That's what she told herself.

And yet, there she was, held tight in his arms, returning the gesture.

Deciding at length that she didn't care, Namie closed her eyes and relaxed into Izaya's embrace.

* * *

BANG BANG BANG

The two looked up sharply as a loud knock sounded on the door.

Izaya stared in shock, wondering who would be knocking on his door at this hour, while Namie scrambled to her feet, cheeks bright red, and left the room with a muttered 'I have to go file something'.

Izaya chuckled, standing to get the door.

Maybe the two of them were alone in the world, but they were alone together.

And that meant more to him than he'd like to admit.

* * *

I'm sorry...that's all I have...please forgive me...

And I also can't guarantee an update anytime soon...possibility around December, but not likely.

Reviews? (Even if they're yelling at me for not updating, it's fine...)


	13. Procrastination FOR THE WIN!

Theoretically, I'm supposed to be writing a lab report...but procrastination is SO much more fun. ^^

And I usually get interesting fanfics from it.

So here's a short clip from after Mikado called out the Dollars to help him mind-screw Namie.

As usual, I don't own the series, though I'm working on fixing that. (Unsuccessfully, I might add...)

Enjoy!

* * *

Gasping for breath, Namie ducked into the first shady alleyway that she could find, wondering what the hell had just happened.

Everything had gone according to her plan, and she had just given the signal for her goons to close in on the little brat Mikado-Kun, when he had – in a mocking mimic of her own signal – raised his cell phone in the air and to all appearances sent a text message.

The next thing she knew, she was standing in the middle of a crowd of people whose cell phones were going off, and who were all turning to stare at her.

What the hell had he done?

There was no way that the kid had managed to do that all on his own…was there?

"Ah, that's where you got off to."

Namie nearly jumped out of her skin as the sultry voice of a familiar information broker came from the shadows behind her.

"Orihara…"

"No need to look so scared, Miss Yagiri." Izaya practically purred, stepping closer than she would have liked and giving his characteristic shrug, "I mean you no harm. I saw everything that happened back in the square, you know. Mikado-Kun got you good there."

"None of your business…" she growled, turning away and stalking off.

She paused at the entrance to the alley and glanced around.

No one there.

Letting out a light sigh, she stepped out into the dull streetlights.

"Still so nervous?"

She jumped as Izaya's voice came from right beside her ear.

"S-Stop that! Go away!" she snapped, whirling around to face him.

Izaya laughed, sidestepping around her to block her path.

"I don't think it's advisable for you to be wandering around alone in this state. You might hurt yourself. So I will accompany you back to your apartment."

Oh, no way in _hell_…

"I'm perfectly capable of finding my own way home, Orihara. And I would be at more risk with you near me than alone.''

"Shizzy-chan is probably asleep, you don't have to worry about getting anything thrown at you."

"Not what I meant."

"Ouch, so cold…I'll accompany you anyway."

Namie began walking away, ignoring him and hoping that he would leave.

However, this was Izaya, so instead of leaving, he walked backwards in front of her, taking up most of her line of sight and incessantly rambling.

"So I bet you're wondering 'what happened? Why didn't my evil plan work? I had everything perfect until he sent that text' – am I right? Well, I bet you've heard of the Dollars~ Ah I can tell from your expression that you have. Think of it as a weaponized 4-chan-…you have no idea what 4-Chan is, do you? Never mind, I'll use a different analogy. It's like the members of an internet community, united under one leader, and collected into the same square on the same night for a 'meeting' in which Mikado will turn them all against you if you show any signs of not cooperating. Luckily for you, Celty-chan crashed the party and everyone ran off, or you would have been in a lot of trouble Miss Yagiri. Celty is the headless one, by the way. Ah, don't look so disgusted, her interruption saved you. I doubt that you would have been able to get out of there otherwise~ Oh, now don't look at me like that… I wonder what Mikado-Kun was planning to do to you if he hadn't been interrupted…Hahaha, that's a funny expression! You aren't thinking something dirty, are you Miss Yagiri? I don't think Mikado-Kun is into that kind of thing…now if it had been Masaomi-Kun, I wouldn't put it past him to blackmail you into the nearest love-hotel…a sexy woman like yourself would have been quite the catch for a teenage boy like him with all those raging hormones~ Ah-ah!"

Izaya ducked her swing with ease, catching her hand and spinning her around to face him with a huge grin. "Have I by any chance irritated you?"

Her glare gave him a pretty obvious answer.

The information broker laughed again, tugging her closer despite her resistance.

"I suppose that you're going to need a new job, with your company being dissolved into Nexus and with everyone knowing your face because of Mikado-Kun…just so happens that I've been looking for a secretary lately…" he gave a few seconds pause, waiting for her to ask him for the job, then decided that he wasn't going to get the question from her and asked on his own, "Would you be interested? Your pay would be very good…I can guarantee that. Probably double what you're being paid now. If not triple."

Now, Namie had to admit, _that_ was tempting…

And she _was_ going to need a new job, unfortunately.

But, it was Orihara…she wasn't sure that she wanted to work for someone as, well, _insane_ as him…no matter what it paid.

"You would also be safe from any cops who might be interested in tracking you down after tonight." He added with a grin, as if he knew that this was all it would take to make up her mind.

Unfortunately, he was right, but she didn't want to give him the pleasure of being correct.

"If you're that desperate for a secretary, why wait for me? Why not hire some other person?" she asked, somewhat bitter that he had so easily trapped her into this.

Izaya gave her a grin which made shivers run down her spine and heat collect in her cheeks as he leaned close to whisper:

"I only take the best. And you, Miss Yagiri, are the only person that I've found who has been qualified for the position."

"…fine. On one condition."

"And that would be…?" he smiled.

He already knew what she was going to ask, Namie was sure of that, but she asked anyway.

"You help me keep track of my dear Seiji."

"Done. Report to my apartment at 7:00 sharp tomorrow, I'll get you acquainted with the place. Your pay starts then."

With that, he was gone. Flouncing away in the girly manner he was prone to.

And Namie was left staring after him, alone once again in the hazy lamplight, vaguely wondering if she'd just made a contract with the devil.

* * *

Hope you enjoyed! Please review! And GOOD NEWS! I FINALLY got everything back off my old laptop! So now it's just a matter of sorting through everyhting and finding the old fanfics for these two that I had started and touching them up.

And now, back to that lab report. Ugh. XP

Laters!


	14. Not Related to Holiday

Hi again. Recovering reom having my wisdom teeth ripped out of my skull has left me rather...brain dead.

It's not much, but I promised to update, (and I got such a nice review asking for an update, I couldn't say no), so here it is.

Enjoy, Merry Christmas, I own nothing, and we're off.

(Also, I'm not sure if I have all the pieces/people straight, but this is to the best of my memory…)

* * *

She has figured it out.

Namie stares at the small chess board and it's cacophony of mismatched pieces in horror.

She has always thought that Izaya was just playing some weird, twisted version of what the internet refers to as 'Calvinball' with himself, making up the rules as he goes, playing against himself because no one else wants in on his crazy game.

_No_, she now realized, _it wasn't that he was playing alone because no one else wanted to join the game, it was because everyone else WAS the game_.

Each piece…each player…each square…all a person, place and time in Ikebukuro.

She wasn't sure how many hints she'd gotten as to what he was really doing over the past few months…holding cards while reciting peoples' names, calling her from the streets to have her move pieces…it all made sense now.

This is the model.

This is how he keeps track of his 'pieces' while he moves their lives around the board that is Ikebukuro.

Staggering back a step in shock, it is all she can do to keep her expression neutral as Izaya comes prancing into the room and asks what she's been up to.

He watches her reaction carefully for a second, analyzing it, then falls back into the couch and moves a few pieces before shooting her a knowing smile and asking his question again.

Over the next few weeks she pays close attention, trying to decipher his game.

Namie watches him at the game board with a sort of terrified reverence.

He holds the fates of all of Ikebukuro…and he can manipulate them however he wants.

There were only a few pieces that she'd figured out who they actually were.

The black queen is the headless rider.

Seiji's piece is a white checker, resting now as it has been for the past few weeks beside a small white pawn that must be his false-faced girlfriend.

The piece that she pays the most attention to, however - the black knight – that is her.

She has never seen him move it in person, but occasionally she comes into the office in the morning, or returns from calling Seiji, to find that it has moved a square in some direction or other. Or, rarely, her player has displaced some other piece on the board.

It terrifies her, not knowing where her life was being directed.

It scares her even more knowing that it is Izaya who holds the pieces.

One day, after a few minutes of intensely re-arranging the board, her employer leaves the room.

Namie's curiosity gets the better of her, and she sneaks over for a look.

By now she knows all the pieces.

Masaomi's piece has been moved one space closer to his old girlfriend, moving him one block further away from Mikado and one diagonal block closer to Izaya incidentally. The headless rider has also moved closer to Izaya, while Shizuo has been moved to the far end of the board, in a corner, with Shinra between him and the information broker's piece.

Every player has been moved in some way.

Every player, that is, except her.

Her piece rests, one row above and three columns over from Izaya's, diagonally across from Seiji and side-by-side with his stalker girlfriend.

Namie isn't sure whether to be relieved or worried that she's the only one that hasn't moved.

She has no time to make up her mind, however, because Izaya comes back in the room and fixes her with a smug look that says that he knows everything.

While it is true that he probably knows exactly what she's been up do, she'll be damned if she'll admit it, and demands that he remove his 'ridiculous, jumbled-up disaster' from the coffee table because it is an eyesore and if he won't move it, she will.

Izaya laughs at this, crossing the distance between them and edging Namie out of the way so he can reach the board.

Hoping that she has thrown him off, she returns to her desk.

However, she can't resist a glance back.

Her stomach drops a bit as he picks up her player, as if there were some voodoo charm that connected her to the small piece of carved marble and she would be harmed if anything were to happen to it.

"Namie-San has come so far in so little time. You're quite an important piece you know." He says, his eyes locking with hers and reading every moment of the past few weeks right off of her soul.

Here he tilts his head, giving her that dangerous smile of his, then continues in a sweet voice that doesn't match his expression at all:

"I've noticed you staring. I take it that you've finally figured out my little game?"

He pauses for a second, but Namie gives no answer. However, he expects this, and continues.

"Oh yes, you're a very important piece. One that I plan to keep close…" he sets the knight beside the King, "right by my side, so I can keep track of you."

And Namie gets the feeling that she wouldn't have minded this so much if it hadn't been for the fact that her knight had been moved in the traditional L-shaped path from its previous position.

He had planned this the whole time.

* * *

Meh...short chapter...and admittedly I feel kinda guilty for not having a holiday-themed update, but maybe I'll try something for New Year. No promises, though.

Please review! And have a great holiday everyone!

~KageTora no Tsume


	15. Related to Holiday X3

So, here's a little update, for those who asked~

Probably the last one for a while. School and all.

Either way, happy New Year!

I don't own DRRR. Enjoy!

* * *

"No."

"Yes."

"NO."

"YES."

"No, and that's final!" Namie snapped, trying to edge past Izaya as he stood in the doorway, blocking the exit.

"Yes, and you have no choice in the matter!" Izaya informed her, moving so that he again blocked her way out of his apartment.

"Why."

Izaya smiled. She was going to keep fighting, but they both knew that she'd lost.

"Because I'm not going to show up to Shinra's New Year's Party by myself, not when Shizzy-chan and Kida-kun and Mikado-kun all have dates! Even your brother and his girlfriend are going! Don't you want to make him jealous by being seen with another guy?"

Namie shot him a glare, ignoring the sensitive subject altogether.

"I still have no idea how you managed to get an invite…"

"How I got one doesn't matter. What DOES matter is that I have a date for the night!"

"Find someone else. Go with one of your sisters."

Izaya made a face.

"No. For more reasons than I care to go into detail about."

Namie sighed, trying once again to edge around him.

"If Shizuo's going to be there, then won't you just get beaten up and thrown out?"

To her surprise, her question elicited a grin.

"Nope! Celty-san made the two of us promise to behave! He won't go back on his word."

"_HE_ won't. What about you?" Namie asked, crossing her arms and taking a step back.

Giving up on the doorway, she turned around and walked back into the living room as Izaya followed her, explaining.

"Well, the only reason I get into fights is because he starts it. If he doesn't start the fight, I can't finish it."

Namie sat down on the couch, arms still crossed.

"That's a lie, and you know it."

"Yes." He admitted, giving her his trademark smirk and shrug. "But tonight I'm going to keep my distance. It IS right after Christmas, after all, and tomorrow is the start of a new year! Time for changes! Time for reconciling old arguments! Time for doing crazy stupid things that you would never do otherwise! Also the world is going to end next year, so I figured that I may as well~…"

"Oh please…" Namie stood, making her way for the door while it was unblocked, but Izaya caught her wrist, and with a quick movement, spun her around and dumped her unceremoniously back on the couch.

"Come on, Namie, just for tonight?" he begged.

She raised an eyebrow, looking him over.

Izaya stood, slightly bent down toward her, his hands clasped in front of him, his eyes in 'kicked puppy' mode, and his bottom lip sticking out slightly in a pleading pout.

She sighed heavily.

"Fine. ONLY to shut you up!" she added, cutting off his joyous cheer.

Not one to be subdued that easily, Izaya caught Namie's wrists and pulled her to her feet, prancing around happily and dragging her along with him.

"Yay! I'm going to Shinra's party! And I'll have the prettiest date there~!"

And although Namie would never admit it, his words caused her to blush and smile.

She couldn't help but think that tonight might not be so bad after all.

* * *

That was shorter than I thought...it looked a lot bigger in microsoft word, really...

Well, thanks for reading! Please review! And have a happy and safe new year!

YAY 2012! X3

KageTora no Tsume, over and out.


	16. Random Update, Heatrbreak

Hello there.

I know you all think I really DID die this time around, and I blame schoolwork as well as a full time job and other accounts to attend to. (Also a KILLER case of writer's block.) So here I am, 6 AM after a night of no sleep, posting an update on this for the first time in a year.

I am so, SO sorry...

I don't own a thing, but please enjoy it anyway!

* * *

"Namieeeeeeeeeeeeeee I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaack!" Izaya shouted, slamming the door open.

He was just in time to see his secretary wince at the sudden loud noise, before sharply snapping at him that he was late and to close the damn door and stop screaming already.

A twisted smile creeping across his features, he stalked across the room and around behind Namie.

To her credit, she didn't so much as glance up at him.

"And what has the lovely Namie been up to all morning…?"

"Putting your filing system in order and dealing with phone calls from someone who kept screaming into the receiver. I assume it was Shizuo."

Izaya stood up straight, a finger to his chin.

"Hmm…that sounds about right…I think I pissed him off earlier today…how did he get my phone number though…?"

"I don't know, but I would advise you against letting these kinds of things happen. I'm the one who has to deal with it."

Almost too perfectly timed, Namie's cell phone went off before Izaya could return the comment.

With one fluid movement, her cell went from its customary place in the second pouch of her designer handbag to her ear, the phone snapped open and talk button pressed on the way up.

"Seiji~" She smiled, cradling the cell against her ear.

No one on the other line had said anything, but she had recognized his number. She always did.

Izaya made faces at the back of her head as she rotated her chair around to face away from him.

"Yes…"

Thumbs against his temples, fingers spread apart, tongue out.

"What's going on?"

Cheeks puffed with air, eyes crossed.

"W-wait a minute…"

Fingers pulling the corners of his mouth back and his tongue stuck out.

"Who is this?"

Thumb pinning nose up and-

Izaya froze mid-face as a small, strange noise came from Namie, not all unlike a whimper.

Leaning cautiously over her shoulder, he caught a glimpse of her expression. Her hand was halfway to her mouth, trembling, and her eyes were wide in shock.

"S-Seiji…"

Izaya blinked at her a few times, then leaned back and turned to his computer. A quick slash of the mouse to pull up the screen – he always left it on sleep mode – and he was typing madly into his search base: 'What happened to Yagiri-kun?'

The first few replies were useless, mostly consisting of 'who's that?', but then real info started to come in. Went out with his girlfriend. Both seen walking past Simon's Russian Sushi bar. Small silver car with Tokyo plates. Broken crosswalk lights. Screeches. Crashes. Ambulances everywhere. Mika rushed off to hospital. Seiji-

Izaya's eyes locked onto the sentence.

From Setton, the message was one line, two words long.

"Seiji died."

Izaya slowly glanced over his shoulder.

Namie had ended her conversation with whoever was on the other line – probably a police officer – and was now sitting with one arm wrapped tightly around her middle, the opposite hand clamped over her mouth as she struggled with the tears that threatened to escape her brimming eyes.

The information broker slowly got to his feet, padding up behind her. The phone had been discarded on the table, pushed far away from her like it would distance the news it had just delivered.

"Namie…?" He asked softly, fingertips brushing lightly against her shoulder.

She shook her head, small darker circles scattering on her skirt as tears escaped between her fingers.

He reached out, his hands hovering awkwardly near her, trying to figure out what to do.

It didn't take him long.

A small sob racked her body, and in that second, Izaya had lunged forward, pulled her to her feet, wrapped his arms as tightly around her as he could and crushed her to his chest as if she would shatter should he let her go.

Her trembling hand found the front of his dark t-shirt and grabbed it, and she buried her face in his shoulder as her emotions finally broke down the wall of shock that had kept her composure.

A small wail of pure agony escaped her lips, and Izaya rested his head against hers as the sobs started in full force. His hand found its way up to her head and he stroked her hair as best he could while using the rest of his arm to hold her close.

He opened his mouth to say something – _anything_ – that would comfort her, make her feel better, keep her from breaking into tiny little bits, but his throat tightened up and he found himself holding back a small sob. Instead, he settled for nuzzling his face into her hair and trying to be comforting; something he had never been any good at.

For the most part, it worked, though it was a full hour before she stopped crying. In that time, Izaya had moved them from standing beside her desk to half-lying on the couch. It was unfortunate, but with her being wanted by the police, she couldn't even risk going down to the station to see her brother's body. Izaya sighed. As much as he detested his annoying little sisters, he couldn't imagine one of them being killed. And given how much Namie had cared for Seiji…

"Izaya…?"

He glanced down, meeting Namie's gaze through her dark lashes.

She looked away, eyes tracing the line where their bodies met.

"I'm sorry, I just-"

Izaya placed his fingertips over her lips, hushing her, then gently kissed her forehead.

"It's fine. Stay here tonight. I'll deal with the cops."

He pulled her close again, listening to her now-even breathing and hoping that he would be able to help her through this.

After all, she was his most precious human.

* * *

Thank you for reading and a BIG thank you to all those who had the slightest hope that this would ever see another update. Reviews are always welcome (though GOD knows I don't deserve them) and once again, I am SO sorry about not updating in forever!


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